Live performance is Jigzag’s lifeblood so it’s nigh tantamount to stating the bleeding obvious to say that the new album shows off their best qualities. Recorded before a studio audience in Melbourne and at festivals in Victoria and Queensland, “Live!” stands as eloquent testimony to the Sydney trio’s stage artistry. Having had the onerous task of following them at a festival in Denmark last year, this reviewer/muso can speak first-hand of their ability to entertain!
 
As a unit Jigzag are as tight as a jigsaw, though there’s always space for spontaneity. It’s a perfect blend of instrumental skills and voices. Greg Bryce (guitar), Elisabeth Frencham (upright bass) and Caroline Trengove (violin/viola) fit together like interlocking pieces. They read each other’s moves like reef fish. All innovative players and singers, lead and harmony, they also have a flair for writing catchy yet thought-provoking songs. Their folky pop contains bright splashes of jazz, blues, classical and Celtic. At the core of Live! is Bryce’s anthemic 30 Seconds of Happiness’, with a veritable busker’s songbook as the meat in the sandwich (there’s quotes from just about everything, from My Sharona to Smoke on the Water). The spectacular gypsy romp Misirlou, featuring Trengove’s soaring violin, is another proven show-stopper. Frencham shines on Man of Wood, her love song to Sebastian (her upright bass). Jigzag change rhythms and feels with an ease that is the hallmark of top flight musicianship. Deft use of dynamics and spine-tingling harmony is the icing on this particularly tasty cake.