John Shand, in the SMH, describes last weekend’s Jazz In The Domain as “easily the best ever.”

Shand’s recent reviews, including his lyrical piece on Triosk a few months back, have really blown me away. I guess he’s been writing great articles for a long time, but it’s only recently I’ve become aware of them. Thanks. - anyway, I was at the Domain on Saturday, and it was good.

Bossa nova legend Oscar Castro-Neves led the band, and he and Brazilian percussion hero and Miles Davis/Weather Report-collaborator Airto Moreira were the drawcards. That was enough to get me there, despite the threatening weather earlier on Saturday. But they were joined by rhythm section, bassist Abraham Laboriel and drummer Alex Acuna. Damn, that was tight! The first half was a tribute to Jobim, which is pretty much the definition of sophisticated music, and culminated in a blinding solo piece on tambourine from Moreira. The second half was looser, exploding into a burst of percussion with band members running through the crowd.

Fergus Linehan has turned the Sydney Festival around over the past two years. Leo Schofield had contacts, unquestionably, but he was elitist in the worst way possible for a community event like this. Linehan’s got people on board who are engaged in events/music/scenes happening on the ground in Sydney, he’s remade the behemoths (especially the old James Morrison Jazz in the Domain) as challenging crowd-pleasing parties, and with the short shows in the city and out at Parramatta, opened more challenging aspects to people willing to take a chance.

NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, slumped in his seat a few rows in front, clearly had something else on his mind.

The Necks played last night at the Spiegeltent, in Hyde Park. I arrived late, so I didn’t realise how short their set was; in fact, I arrived moments after they started and saw the entire 30 or so minute piece. Thrillingly (and trillingly - thanks John Shand), there was a moment, a movement, where Tony Buck’s repeated cymbal motifs began to send waves of thrilling shivers through me. Spectacular, although rather than leading into a new height, it decayed into a ghostly percussion, and the end.