table.

And that may explain why there were many empty seats at what had to be one of the highlights of the Bermuda Festival last night.

However, the people who turned up at City Hall gave Richard Stoltzman and Friends a warmhearted welcome despite the chilly night outside.

Certainly, the talented trio deserved it for a performance of classical and jazz musicianship that was out of this world.

Touted in some circles as the best clarinetist of the century, Stoltzman was joined by modern-day jazz legend Eddie Gomez and another musical genius, Bill Douglas.

The trio played a variety of musical styles including the classics, the whole range of jazz and big band sounds.

Stoltzman is a breathtaking clarinetist able to challenge your emotions with swings from quieter moods to frenetic ramblings that can set the heart pumping.

He introduced Eddie Gomez to the stage with a warning to classical fans: "Fasten your seat-belts!'' It was no joke.

The trio then set about a Francois Poulenc sonata in which Gomez showed exactly why he is rated as a "legend'' by almost setting the booming double bass alight with the speed of his playing. It was greeted with thunderous applause.

Playing keyboard and bassoon, Bill Douglas started the performance in duet with Stoltzman and appeared shy and reserved. By the end of the show he had once again proved why pianists are often dubbed the "mad professor'' of the band.

It has been said that genius is often accompanied by a little madness.

And there was a lot of madness on stage last night.

Stoltzman often had the audience laughing with his dry humour and they were roaring when he and Douglas got together to use their voices as instruments on the pianist's "music-made-interesting lessons'' which he teaches at a college in Colorado. Its thumping beat was almost pure rap as Douglas leapt up and down in the air.

The early part of the performance was classical as Stoltzman and Douglas lulled the audience with an hypnotic display of classical Schubert and Debussy.

They were joined on stage by Gomez and continued in the classics mood until they started the Spyro Gyra jazz-rock number "Spiral.'' While they played, the audience was treated to the pictures of photographer John Pearson.

Pearson's visual imagery made a great accompaniment to the music. The show is actually billed "Music and Light''.

During the second half of the performance the trio concentrated on the compositions of Bill Douglas like the haunting "Feast'' and the more traditional jazz of "Sky''.

The visual images returned for Gomez's "Delgardo,'' a Latin-influenced piece, in which he again took command of the double bass.

Douglas played the bassoon in the three big band songs, including "A-Train'' and Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo''.

At Stoltzman's cheeky suggestion the audience called them back for an encore and they duly obliged.

Stoltzman seemed delighted with the reaction and wondered what it would be like tonight. He will probably see some familiar faces.

For all those music lovers who can stand the crossover from classics to jazz this is an opportunity not to be missed. Once news of last night gets out I predict there will be full house this evening.

ALAN WRIGHT BREATHTAKING PERFORMERS -- Grammy Award-winner Richard Stoltzman, (second from left), pictured (from left to right) with noted photographer John Pearson, keyboard artist Bill Douglas, and jazz great Eddie Gomez.