We Will Meet Again, Sometime is the third album of original material that Irish pianist John Donegan has written for his sextet, after Shadows Linger (2022) and Light Streams (2023). Completing the sextet are brothers Michael Buckley (alto and soprano saxophone, flute) and Richie Buckley (tenor saxophone), Linley Hamilton (trumpet, flugelhorn), Dan Bodwell (double bass) and John Daly (drums) – expanded to a septet on four numbers by Hugh Buckley (guitar), cousin of Michael and Richie.
Kicking off the album is the soul-jazzy “Blues for a Few Bucks”. It’s a perfect way to introduce the septet, featuring solos from piano, guitar and all three horn players, not to mention a title that puns on the Buckley kinship.
A secondary kinship is that all the musicians were close to the great Irish guitarist Louis Stewart, in whose memory Donegan wrote “A Ballad for Louis”, also performed by the full septet. This ballad showcases both Donegan’s writing and the empathy between the players: lush horn arrangements, a pretty theme for the guitar backed by subtle bass and drum brushwork, a fine guitar solo that captures the essence of Louis, a yearning alto solo over piano, bass and drums, then (a nice touch) a switch from piano to guitar backing for a gentle tenor solo, and finally a return to the head followed by a quiet piano-trio outro.
Fine quartet performances highlight Michael Buckley’s flute on the folky and hummable “I’m Just Nearby” and Richie Buckley’s tenor saxophone on the eponymous “We Will Meet Again, Sometime”, which has a hint of Keith Jarrett’s European quartet with Jan Garbarek. Donegan himself is highlighted on two solo piano pieces, “By the Waters of Glencar” (which could almost be a jazz arrangement of a traditional Irish folk song) and “La Vita e Bella” (a spontaneous improvisation).
Completing the set are the minor-bluesy “One Moment” performed by the full septet, with fine guitar-piano duetting and horn arrangements; “Rendezvous”, which switches from 3/4 for the head to 4/4 for the solos; the Monkish feel of “Edgy Moments”; a cheerful and bouncy “Round & About”; a bossa feel and interweaving horns on “Little Miss Cleo” (written for Donegan’s youngest grandchild); and the closing “Quick Now”, an upbeat septet performance.
All in all, this album reveals Donegan to be a composer of strong melodies and clever arrangements, supported by fine musicians infusing straight-ahead jazz with essences from Ireland and beyond.
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Really cool review!…and the album launch of “We Will Meet Again, Sometime” will be at Jazz Café POSK on Saturday 7th of December 2024: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/john-donegan-sextet-we-will-meet-again-sometime-album-launch-tickets-1072687329679?aff=oddtdtcreator 🙂