Some boys also just want to have fun and these ones certainly do, with Sam Comerford playing the monstrous and rare bass saxophone with his now trademark infectious energy alongside Matthew Jacobson’s playful drumming and ear for a catchy, quirky tune.
The duo – two of the preeminent figures in Ireland’s creative/improvised music scene – have been cavorting around Europe since early 2016. The music has been described as “Ed Blackwell and Don Cherry meets Autechre” (composer/performer Matthew Noone), “like a slow-burning Nirvana” (All About Jazz) and “moving seamlessly between gnarly grooves and loose, open textured freedom, using simple ‘compositions’ as starting points for adventures at the outer reaches of music” (Cormac Larkin, Irish Times).
Performance highlights so far include 12 Points Festival in Saint Sebastian, Jazzy Colors Festival in Paris and Another Love Story Festival in Meath, Ireland. They also released their debut eponymous EP to strong reviews from publications at home and abroad, being hailed as “delightfully unhinged from expectation” and “intricate and thoughtful and very accessible” by influential Irish bloggers Nialler9 and Remy Connolly respectively.
The past few years have seen saw the Dublin/Brussels based joy-seekers romp around Ireland, represent at Jazz Connective event 'Go Northward' in Helsinki and they are currently developing new material to be recorded later in the year for their first full-length album.
Expect revelry.
Matthew Jacobson - drums / compositions
Sam Comerford - bass saxophone
Press Quotes
"Jacobson's constant invention—never at the expense of groove—coaxed beautifully wild flights from Comerford. On more balladic material the duo's chemistry simmered menacingly, like a slow-burning Nirvana. Intoxicating stuff.”
Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz Review
“It's intricate and thoughtful and very accessible, easy to imagine in a live setting and gives so much variety across it's almost 30 minutes that it feels just as much like a story as a piece of music, a rewarding experience for me.”
Remy's Music and Film, EP Review
“The combination of jazz drumming and the low-toned bass saxophone makes for loosely shaking rhythmic excursions and a real sense of exploration, with both players reacting to each other in real-time, switching it up and moving it on in new ways, creating unique textures as they go. Insufficient Funs is delightfully unhinged from expectation.”
Nialler9, 'New Irish Music Release of the Week', Irish Times
“Dublin duo Insufficient Funs turned in a confident, enthralling set last night in the gilt-edged splendour of the Victoria-Eugenia theatre here in Donostia-San Sebastián. Risks were being taken, ideas were passing back and forth, and new music was happening in the moment - you can’t ask for more than that.”
Cormac Larkin, 12 Points Blog
"Jacobson's constant invention—never at the expense of groove—coaxed beautifully wild flights from Comerford. On more balladic material the duo's chemistry simmered menacingly, like a slow-burning Nirvana. Intoxicating stuff.”
Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz Review
“It's intricate and thoughtful and very accessible, easy to imagine in a live setting and gives so much variety across it's almost 30 minutes that it feels just as much like a story as a piece of music, a rewarding experience for me.”
Remy's Music and Film, EP Review
“The combination of jazz drumming and the low-toned bass saxophone makes for loosely shaking rhythmic excursions and a real sense of exploration, with both players reacting to each other in real-time, switching it up and moving it on in new ways, creating unique textures as they go. Insufficient Funs is delightfully unhinged from expectation.”
Nialler9, 'New Irish Music Release of the Week', Irish Times
“Dublin duo Insufficient Funs turned in a confident, enthralling set last night in the gilt-edged splendour of the Victoria-Eugenia theatre here in Donostia-San Sebastián. Risks were being taken, ideas were passing back and forth, and new music was happening in the moment - you can’t ask for more than that.”
Cormac Larkin, 12 Points Blog
photo by Ruth Medjer
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photo by Aimée Gray
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