The Israeli-born jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon erupted in a volcano of passion and intensity on the stage of the Sallis Benney Theatre.

Atzmon is as well-known for his powerful live performances as he is for his vocal hatred of oppression in general and Zionism in particular but the first three numbers he played, from a new and as yet unreleased album, challenged the Richter scale of raw emotion.

For someone whose music reflects the horrors of violence and war, and with the Iraq tragedy deepening day by day, you can see where he's coming from.

Yet as he mines his jazz from a wild mix of be-bop, kletzmer, European cafe music and Mozart so he unearths the comic from the tragic.

A piece called the 20th Century took us on a ride from jazz to Roll Out The Barrel to Mack The Knife, ending in a gorgeous and ultimately triumphant blues - all achieved by Atzmon and his wonderful multinational band with the deftness and wit of master conjurors.

His soprano sax would be crying one minute, shouting the next and laughing soon after. Drummer Asaf Sirkis stitched the switchback ride together with filigrees of cymbals, subtle polyrhythms and power solos.

And though he sent us into the night with the haunting ballad Falluja, the evening was ultimately a joyous musical celebration.