I have always found tables with candles to be a sign of a sophisticated gig, apart from once in Coventry where the headline act decided to jump on the table. No such raucousness at the Rising Sun’s first Jazz Night. Assembled on stage are Veryan Weston on piano, Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone and Hannah Marshall on cello. The three seem to trail each other, the sound rising and falling. I have never heard improvised jazz before. The only moment of familiarity came when I thought Ingrid Laubrock was playing a Nick Cave song. She wasn’t. My ignorance annoyed me immensely, for about a minute. Because as strange as this sound was to my ears, it was hard not to be absorbed. The long piano and cello notes linger with streaks of saxophone, the effect is almost mesmerising: these guys have effortless cool.
