Wow!

That may not be the best word for starting a review but it's the one best suited to what went on at the Mike Weir Park earlier this evening. Singer, writer and guitarist along with saxophone player Chris Molyneaux and drummer Sue Webber worked together as a hastily formed trio and magic happened. Skilled musicians can read each other fairly easily but sometimes they mesh as naturally as if they'd played together for years. This group fit one another like immaculately sculpted pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Mike's natural timekeeping abilities worked in perfect synchronization with the impeccable beat Sue laid down allowing both to add to what they were already doing. With Chris playing their sound conjured images of a full orchestra. What happened because of it … well, where to start?

The energy that generated from the chemistry the trio had was astounding. Mike's singing, Sue's ornamentation of the rhythmic patterns, the accompaniments and solos Chris played all had something extra. Each continually fed the others something they could add to. Familiar songs in their sets such as "Walk on the Wild Side", "House of the Rising Sun", "A Little Love" and "Mr. Bojangles" all came out sounding like this "how they should be played" as opposed to just performed really well. George Gershwin had to be smiling somewhere about the rendition his song "Summertime" was given. The same has to be said about Dean Martin's signature piece, "Everybody Loves Somebody". This was Mike Blackmore's vision of the number but it paid homage to the material beautifully. The whole Rat Pack would have enjoyed it and they'd been in seventh heaven over the jaw-dropping solo that Chris played.

Chris' ability to send and respond to bandmates' signals makes him a great improvisational ensemble player. The solos he plays are intricate and expansive. Their extended runs are fluid, alive with lovely tones and dynamic punctuation, and always completely focused on the framework of the song. It's as if he perceives an abstracted pattern that encompasses sound, vision and possibly colour and then follows it. The conclusion always happens in a spot that's both logical and invariably around the time it would be nice to hear just few bars more. Everyone there knew it and waited eagerly for the next solo.

The event was put together in support of BSI Gen Y, a local youth sustainability group, and took place under the small canopy in The Mike Weir Park and the close quarters made the already warm affair even more intimate. As the show passed and darkness crept in people moved closer and the current passing between the audience and the musicians took on the special warmth that happens when something truly wonderful is shared.

It started as a show but finished as pure enchantment.