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Brendan Duffy at the Black Swan Anna Lacy Date: Wednesday 28 January, 2009 Venue: The Black Swan, Peasholme Green Artist: Brendan Duffy If it’s Wednesday night, there’s no need to ask where I’ll be: The Black Swan! One of the oldest pubs in the city, its weekly jam session forms the hub of the local jazz ‘scene’, where the house band perform a gig and invite other players to ‘sit in’. The ‘free entry’ is somewhat compromised by the £1 raffle tickets – not that I’ve won yet, mind you! – but the money goes to a good cause, namely the fee of each month’s special guest. The last Wednesday in January brought forth Brendan Duffy, a popular saxophonist in Leeds, and in York too judging by the somewhat cramped seating conditions! While appearing mild-mannered, his array of instruments – three saxophones (soprano, alto and tenor) and a clarinet – indicated much to the contrary. The first half of the night focused primarily on pieces by the late Freddie Hubbard and Charles Mingus, and showed Duffy to be a musical tour de force: the frantic lines, shrieking harmonics and powerful projection left punters wondering if they would retain their hearing. Even the house band were kept on their toes through the choice of unconventional charts and Duffy’s supply of verbal instructions and physical signals to them throughout the gig. The second half heralded a change of pace as the evening progressed into the jam session, and the audience were treated to tunes by Gershwin, Horace Silver and Miles Davis. Duffy should be particularly commended for his rendition of Duke Ellington’s Tenderly: his soft and gentle tone on the clarinet added a wonderful sprinkling of romance to the event. A varied, often animated, and thoroughly enjoyable performance, Duffy is an impressive musician who ‘raised the game’ of everyone present. Attendance at future gigs is highly recommended!