Meilana Gillard

The RBG Trio is a collective group of fearless improvisers based in Ireland who thrive on ensemble interplay, challenging the roles of each instrument over a broad spectrum of grooves and textures, and harnessing their power as a group to create something larger than themselves.   

Their sound ranges from pre and post bop, soulful, grungy, and sometimes tender sometimes free, sometimes swinging but with the blues always felt in the foundation. 

They take huge inspiration from the mastery of tenor saxophone trio cannon royalty in Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson and Elvin Jones, through to Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, Fly Trio and many more.  With their own perspectives fused together, they create a sound that is reflective of the times but connected to the lineage of Jazz. 

Tenor saxophonist, Meilana Gillard, double-bassist Dave Redmond and drummer Kevin Brady all have more than 2 decades experience playing and producing their own albums respectively, are among the first call Jazz musicians in the country. The RBG Trio considers their collective sound to be a celebration of all their inspirations, experiences and imagination.   Each artist composes for the trio and are often changing material as they don’t like to stay in one place too long.  

Since they started together in 2019, The RBG Trio has already performed at EuroJazz in Mexico City and many festivals around Ireland and UK such as Brilliant Corners in Belfast.  They have just released their new single ‘Neither Here nor There’ (Nov ’22) and have recorded their debut full-length album named after the band itself ‘RBG Trio’ in April which was just released on 20 September ’23.  They have just completed the Northern Ireland part of their tour and will appear at the London Jazz Festival on November 18th at the Barbican Center. 

Quotes from the debut album reviews:

"..a powerful trio capable of navagating these rugged uplands of melody and rhythm with agility and purpose" 

- Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"as impeccable a jazz trio to ocme out of the Irish scene in a long while."

-Stephen Graham, Marlbank ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"the standard of playing is exceptional."

-Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Compositions from the trio all sound fresh and exciting, well-paced and varied.."

-Nick Lea, Jazzviews.net

Quotes from Live performances and singles:

“catchy melodies opening out into full-bloodied collective improvisation rooted by solid swinging grooves” 

Jazzwise

 “Rhythmically grooving and tightly tethered one moment, loose and exploratory the next, RBG Trio's aesthetic was both familiar in a rootsy way and thrillingly free-spirited.” 

All About Jazz

 “...a smoking tenor solo of economy and power from Gillard, followed by an exceptional solo from Redmond.”

All About Jazz

 On Meilana Gillard:

"Gillard is a gutsy, inventive player with a forceful melodic sense and an open, old-school tenor sound... Gillard’s full-throated contribution to the saxophone trio canon is as charming as it is courageous."

Irish Times

“A tenor player who marries old school, blues-based melodicism with a more modern edge...a big, seductive sound, exciting without ever resorting to theatrics or showboating.”

All About Jazz

On Kevin Brady:

“Brady is an impressive drummer with strong chops, impeccable taste, creative & most notably, terrific tone” 

All About Jazz

On Dave Redmond:

“Redmond's earthy bass shines forth beautifully from the spare arrangements.”

All About Jazz