As much as Friday and Saturday had been about relaxing, Sunday was all about the concert and nothing but the concert. Alto player Laura MacDonald had arrived in the early morning from Schotland so we had all morning for playing throught the repertoire for the evening. Rehearsal was at the foyer of the National Concert Hall. Great to have a bunch of people that come to rehearsal well-prepared; we could get straight to the important stuff. Also great to find an alto player that is so easy to play together with! As well on musical aspects such as timing, tuning and phrasing as on a personal basis.

rehearsal in the lounge

For the guys of the rhythm section this would turn out to be a very long day. They took part in all line-ups of the concert: quintet, chamber orchestra and bigband. And all bands had a rehearsal as well as a sound check. Kudos to them all! Phill Ware on the piano, Cormac OBrien on bass and Shane O’Donovan on the drums.

And then concert time! Nearly sold out; even the president of Ireland was in the audience. Several times during this evening the words of Kenny Werner played through my head. Being in space, that’s what it was indeed. I couldn’t believe it was 45 minutes we played; It seemed like only a short little moment. Very enjoyable indeed. This was definitely not my last time in Ireland

And of coarse should a good evening of music end with a good moment of relaxation. Hanging at a bar in Blackrock isn’t a bad thing to do; wow what a night!

After hours in Dublin