Barry O’Sullivan

When: Friday 26 September
Where: The Church, Alexandria

Gary Daley – composer, bandleader, piano, accordion, and electronics
Hilary Geddes – electric guitarist
Jacques Emery-Double bass
Chloe Kim -drumset
Choir: Ruby Jackson, Kate Wadey, Steph Russell, Meklit Kibret, Alice Chance, Arlo Sim, Mark Harris, and Toby Graham

Round the Sun is a musical suite that represents a reflection of Gary Daley’s experience during a post-COVID descent into and recovery from significant mental and physical illness. Daley has created a suite for a jazz quartet embodying a choir. At its core, it is music as a refuge and a tribute to the countless number of people who suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work consists of eleven movements hinged around three notes, which Daley played on the Fazioli concert grand during his verbal introduction to the live performance. Revolved around his pianism and his astute playing of his Guerrini accordion, the ninety-minute mix is, to put it mildly, an impressive piece of work. The performance hurtles through themes with intriguing titles such as Breath, SOMA, Qualia, and Ghost in the Machine. He takes us on a musical journey that, at its heart, reflects a very personal journey. Individual players added stellar improvisations, most notably, Emery’s bass work of bowed notes on Nothing To Leave, and Kim’s masterful showing on her drum kit on Nothing To Take. The gradual progression of a guitar solo by Hilary Geddes into John Lennon’s Across the Universe, became a declaration of inner peace and acceptance, with a perfect vocal solo from Arlo Sim and choir. The choir added a harmonious layer that enriched the suite’s emotional depth. Their unified voices, warm and resonant, created waves of harmonious sound that provided a sense of solace and strength. As they blended seamlessly with the jazz quartet, their dynamic role underscored the themes of peace and healing, echoing Daley’s personal journey and lending a poignant human element to the overall composition, encapsulating the theme of detachment and equanimity. If a reader asks what this is all about, well, it is none other than a sonic reflection on a life-changing experience. The sounds, structure, texture, and overall impression are what are at issue here. The musical ensemble’s impact was very strong indeed. It was contemporary creative music at its most relevant and a clarion call to individuality that improvisational jazz demands.