"Ronan Guilfoyle's searching lines, melodious yet edgy—and a little mischievous to boot—stem from traditions old, contemporary and subtly global." - All About Jazz
Ronan Guilfoyle’s new quartet Bemusement Arcade finds deep inspiration in the jazz tradition while challenging its rhythmic foundations with daring innovation.
Led by acclaimed bassist, composer, and educator Ronan Guilfoyle, their most recent record At Swing Two Birds was released on Livia Records, and launched at Bray Jazz Festival in 2025.
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. 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.
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