Livia Records continues its run of ambitious and distinctive jazz releases with At Swing, Two Birds by Ronan Guilfoyle’s Bemusement Arcade—a record that finds deep inspiration in the jazz tradition while challenging its rhythmic foundations with daring innovation.
Led by acclaimed bassist, composer, and educator Ronan Guilfoyle, this brand-new album features seven original compositions performed by a top-flight quartet of creative improvisers: Sam Norris (alto sax), Chris Guilfoyle (guitar), and Darren Beckett (drums). The album is housed in a beautifully designed 12-page booklet with session photography and liner notes offering deeper insight into the music.
A Meeting of Minds, Time and Sound
The title At Swing, Two Birds is a clever nod to Irish literary giant Flann O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds, while also referencing rhythmic and harmonic ideas drawn from Charlie Parker’s groundbreaking language. It’s a fitting symbol for the way this album playfully dances between old and new, between swing and surprise.
The music here is alive with groove and grit—blues forms, shout choruses, solos and drum trades abound—but wrapped in atypical time signatures and rhythmic displacement. Guilfoyle’s signature approach to rhythm means that what feels familiar is often reimagined, reshaped, or joyfully derailed. Tracks like Diversionary Tactics deconstruct I Got Rhythm with sly detours, while Lenniesphere tips its cap to Lennie Tristano’s knotty melodicism over the classic changes of All the Things You Are.
The standout title track, At Swing Two Birds, exemplifies the album’s conceptual core: an irreverent celebration of jazz’s history that refuses to sit still. Elsewhere, the boogaloo-inflected Two Blues nods to Lee Morgan while playfully undermining expectations, and Dulcettia—a lyrical dedication to Guilfoyle’s granddaughter—adds a tender, off-kilter charm through constantly shifting metre.
The Band
The album brings together three exceptional players from Ireland, the UK, and beyond. Alto saxophonist Sam Norris, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, brings a searching, contemporary voice informed by Coltrane, Ligeti and the British jazz vanguard. Guitarist Chris Guilfoyle—Ronan’s son and one of Ireland’s leading jazz musicians—brings fearless melodic invention and rhythmic fluency, honed through his acclaimed work with Umbra and other European projects. On drums, Darren Beckett brings a wealth of international experience, blending groove, subtlety, and explosive energy from years of performing with artists like Madeleine Peyroux, Brandon Flowers, and Kenny Wheeler.
The Launch
At Swing, Two Birds will be launched at the Bray Jazz Festival on May 3rd, 2025, at the Mermaid Arts Centre, as part of a much-anticipated double bill with US piano visionary Vijay Iyer. It’s set to be a night where rhythmic invention and jazz imagination take centre stage.
Full event details and ticket information can be found via the Jazz Ireland event listing
A Life in Music
Ronan Guilfoyle is a towering figure in Irish jazz—a prolific composer, innovative bassist, and renowned educator. His performance and compositional credits span continents and genres, from collaborations with legends like Dave Liebman, Brad Mehldau, Kenny Wheeler, and John Abercrombie, to orchestral commissions and pioneering jazz education work at Dublin City University. His 1997 album Devsirme won the Julius Hemphill Jazz Composition Award, and his book Creative Rhythmic Concepts for Jazz Improvisation is a cornerstone for improvisers worldwide.
With At Swing, Two Birds, Guilfoyle shows that jazz can honour its past while rewriting the rules of time. This is music that swings, stutters, surprises—and most of all, stays with you.
You can purchase At Swing, Two Birds via the Livia Records Website