Composer-pianist Carla Bley performs at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Credit:Kevin_Peterson

The concert's centrepiece was a masterful three-part suite, Andando El Tiempo, described by the pianist as a story of addiction and recovery. Thanks to the deep empathy among the players and the ingenuity of Bley's arrangements, the suite felt almost orchestral in scope, with a seamless exchange between piano, bass and saxophone. Not a note was wasted on gratuitous flourishes as Bley and Swallow moved in measured counterpoint or teased the subtle Latin rhythms into jauntier vamps, while Sheppard flitted between shadows and sunlight.

The following night, the Jazzlab hosted two lesser-known piano trios from Europe. Led by drummer Jacek Kochan, Poland's NAK Trio constructed punchy, dynamic pieces characterised by precise trio interplay. Melbourne bass player Marty Holoubek (replacing the band's regular bassist) did an exceptional job locking in with Kochan and pianist Dominik Wania as they leapfrogged across skittery time-feels, or softened into a more pliant sound.

The members of Switzerland's MaxMantis are also fond of tightly synchronised shifts in mood and metre. But where the NAK Trio were more internally focused, the Mantis clan are natural extroverts. Lukas Gernet (on piano), Rafael Jerjen (bass) and Samuel Buttiker (drums) are close friends as well as colleagues, and their animated musical conversations were as infectious and engaging. They added soulful backbeats to Swiss folk tunes, created theme songs for imaginary superheroes and exuded a joyful energy that was impossible to resist.

On Saturday night, Vince Jones – backed by the warm breeze of the Orquestra do Brasil – draped his distinctive grain-flecked vocals over the languid bossa rhythms of Jobim's best-known tunes. While the music was undeniably appealing, the show felt under-rehearsed (with Jones fixing his gaze on sheets of lyrics) and lacking in dynamic variation. The highlight was a pair of duets – one with guitarist Doug de Vries, another with pianist Matt McMahon – where the languorous mood gave way to a more emotionally direct relationship between Jones, the song and the audience.