This was the second evening of music from Oxford Improvisers in the upstairs of the Folly Bridge Inn after the closure of the Port Mahon. The venue is surprisingly comfortable with good acoustics and even car parking, a rarity in Oxford.

The evening started with a trio of John Grieve on tenor sax, Julian Faultless on French horn and Martin Hackett on melodicas and voice changer. With a mix of players from the jazz and classical world this was a perfect example of how free improvisation can provide avenues along which to explore new ideas.

After an unsure start this trio produced music of extraordinary breadth and intensity with all three taking their instruments into unexpected areas. Julian Faultless unscrewed the bell of the French horn to produce a startlingly naked tone. Martin Hackett can make a melodica sound by turns sprightly and dense. Such diversities were made into comprehensible music by the awareness of all three players. This was free improvisation at its best — and two of the players had never even met before.

The second half was devoted to a quartet featuring drummer Roger Telford (above), Pat Thomas on synthesiser, David Stent, guitar and Dominic Lash, contrabass. This was a perfect contrast being a full-frontal, high energy blast with much of the frenzied outpourings that can be a feature of more jazz-orientated free improvisation. Pat Thomas was, as ever, crisp and imaginative, throwing in sudden shifts of timing and emphasis with the occasional wry quote.

There was some great repartee between Thomas and David Stent playing with uncharacteristic fierceness. Roger Telford (pictured) on drums creates an ever-shifting carpet, maintaining a sense of pulse without ever falling into a time signature and with the sensitivity to change direction or drop out entirely. Thus the sense of frenzy dropped several times to, for example, a duo between Thomas and Lash. The evening showed the exceptional level of playing among members of Oxford Improvisers and how multifaceted free improvisation can be.

Oxford Improviser concerts will continue in the autumn. Meanwhile, watch out for Ntshuks Bonga’s Qwati with Alexander Hawkins at The North Wall on July 25.