MAOism

I thought this had been lost. It probably should have been. Absolute guff that even the BBC website wouldn't print. Still, in the interests of archaeology I'll tap it in again for you now. This is quite old - MOMA is now called Modern Art Oxford, The Pit in Witney is long gone, and I don't think the Cafe Varvara name is used any more; OCM still do good early evening gigs there, however, that I heartily recommend.

MARTIN SPEAKE/ COLIN OXLEY - Oxford Contemporary Music, Cafe Varvara

Aah, comfy seats!

The Varvara Cafe at MOMAis certainly a higher class of venue than one normally experiences in Oxford - slouching on a leather sofa in a tidy whitewashed basement has got to be better than getting stuck up some punk's armpit in The Pit. Can't get a pint though...

This short series of concerts, organised by Oxford Contemporary Music, is certainly worth visiting if you fancy broadening your musical palette on a Thursday afternoon: the next few weeks boast folk, jazz and 20th century percussion works, all for £2.

Martin Speake's damascene moment was hearing Ornette Coleman, causing him to jack in his job and pick up the saxophone. On this afternoon's showing, Ornette has left his mark on Speake in approach rather than sound, as glistening fluent lines are in evidence, rather than obtuse firy blowing.

At first there's a slight crunch around the corners, elegant phrases not quite flowing together, mostly due to some hesitant guitar from Colin Oxley - apparently, they haven't played together for months, which may explain it. However, after the second track things begin to gel, and the remainder of the set sees them locked together intricately, especially on the third tune, Wayne Shorter's "Deluge".

It's these ever-so-slightly spikier compositions that serve them best, saving them from polite jazz purgatory, eg that terrible yet inevitable moment when Jan Garbarek stops sounding like an austere wide-angle tundra, and starts sounding like Kenny G. Soon they are tackling be-bop squiggle, show tune balladry and even "Suicide Is Painless" with effortless panache.

Admittedly, this duo isn't going to revolutionaise jazz, but it's a pleasure to see two musicians play together with such delicacy and intelligence. This would certainly be a revelation to anyone whose only experience of quieter jazz is the three automata dawdling through "Summertime" for half an hour at every college ball in Oxford's history.