SAM COMERFORD QUARTET - JAZZLAB CLUB CONCERT

After his debut album 'Stillorgan' (2020) with the trio Thunderblender, composer and saxophonist Sam Comerford returns to his roots in traditional Irish music. In March 2027, his first album in seven years will be released: 'Heaven'. Inspired by the innovative and quirky Dublin fiddler Tommie Potts (1912–1988), Comerford, together with three of his closest musical partners, creates a radical hybrid: the wild energy and soulful madness of his native music fused with the conventions of contemporary improvised music and jazz. Fiddle and alto fiddle player Ultan O’Brien, hailing from Ennis and deeply connected to the entire Irish music tradition, brings an open ear and rich experience. He previously worked with Skipper’s Alley, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Cuar, John Francis Flynn, Jessie Buckley, and Nic Gareiss. He joins Thunderblender’s Hendrik Lasure and Jens Bouttery to create a new group sound. Bouttery trades his drum kit and bass synth for a role in live sampling: manipulating and playing back the group in real time, whereby the intimacy of the acoustic sound is alienated and enriched. Comerford previously released two albums with THUNDERBLENDER: ‘Stillorgan’ (2020) and the EP ‘Last Minute Panic’ (2017). With Met Ultan O’Brien, he also recorded two albums within Neil O’Lochlainn’s Cuar: ‘Tairseach’ (2024) and ‘Umhaill’ (2022). In addition, he worked with Neil O’Lochlainn’s Cuar, Camille-Alban Spreng’s ODIL and Mobilhome, Kris Defoort, Utsav Lal, Lander Gyselinck & Zwangere Guy, Le Grand Partir, Nicolas Thys, and many others. The new album is realized with the support of Werkplaats Walter, the Vlaamse Overheid, and is part of his doctorate at KASK & Conservatorium: Radical variations, primitive forms: The melodic language of Tommie Potts in contemporary jazz.