Gerard McChrystal

When Upstairs at The Western first opened Gerard McChrystal was in the first season's schedule and has now returned to give us a second taste of his soporific saxophones.
Back in the late 70's I lived in a garret flat just off Brighton seafront. The year I was there we experienced a white Christmas and my abiding memory is of an ardent suitor serenading me on a saxophone under the lamplight in the corner of the snow covered square four flights down from my bay window. The haunting sounds drifted up to me as I watched the golden instrument glisten in time to the music. To this day I hold a special place in my heart for this most romantic of wind instruments.
Happily ensconced in the back row of the theatre I was entranced at the versatility of Gerard McChrystal and his trio of saxophones. Backed only by something he called a loop machine, some creative reverb on the various microphones and a couple of backing tracks, Gerard entertained us with a wide range of music, back stories of many of the pieces and a few bad jokes, all delivered in his lilting Northern Irish brogue.
Along the way he explained some of the tricks of the trade of a hard working saxophonist including circular breathing, a neat trick for a 50 year old asthmatic saxophonist, as he readily points out. It was a surprise to me to find that playing a sax is not just a case of blowing into a piece of brass with keys. All sorts of unlikely sounds can be generated with a little know how and a lot of practice.
The evening was a nice mixture of classical pieces alongside new compositions. So even if one genre wasn't exactly to your taste the next piece would surely get your toes tapping.
Further details of this talented artiste can be found at www.saxsaxsax.com/index.php

First published in Western Gazette 
© Paul Towers 8/3/2015