It has always beeen a personal ambition of mine to find a way to celebrate the work of ECM at Triskel, particularly after we annexed the beautiful acoustic and visual space of Christchurch.
I wanted the celebration to be formally about ECM because many ECM artists have played unforgettable concerts with us over the years in the old auditorium. Triskel’s reputation for being the "year round" venue for contemporary Jazz resulted in many notable ECM jazz artists playing here through the various Jazz Festivals, and Triskel was always a willing partner when promoters like IMC and NOTE brought ECM artists to Ireland on tours.
There is a natural affinity between our own aspiration to be a "sanctuary for music" and the excellence that ECM embodies. Moreover, ECM make film, and have a long association with the medium. We are screening two of their own documentaries over the weekend in full digital cinema.
All the concerts will offer real gems – Amores Pasados will include compositions specially written for John Potter by John Paul Jones that will delight Led Zeppelin fans. The lute playing of Ariel Abramovich and Jacob Heringman is a delight, as is the balance and interplay of Potter’s own tenor voice with that of Anna Maria Friman (also of Trio Mediaeval). This concert celebrates the art of the popular song – and I guarantee it will be one of those concerts that will be remembered here for years to come.
We are effectively getting a double bill of music on Saturday night: Arve Henriksen will give a solo performance of his own work, and might join the duo of Iain Ballamy and Thomas Strønen who will present their hauntingly beautiful Food project. Only Thomas hasn’t been to Triskel before, and I know Jazz fans will be keen to finally get a chance to hear him live at Christchurch.
The finale is our long overdue performance by June Tabor, Huw Warren and Iain Ballamy of the acclaimed Quercus project, beautiful folk tunes masterfully interpreted in a jazz medium. I promised we’d bring it to Cork (after the last-minute cancellation due to illness last year). I’m told that the night will include a live premiere of previously unrecorded material on the night.
