Together with fellow members of the Andrew Collins Trio (ACT) – string guru Mike Mezzatesta and in-the-pocket bassist James McEleney – good times are sure to be had when they serve up their sophomore release And It Was Good. at music hotspot Hugh’s Room. And It Was Good boldly showcases ACT’s popular collision of genres – merging classical with bluegrass, folk with jazz, swing with Celtic – it also kicks off the first time the spirited Trio has crafted a thematic concept album.

The Trio’s instrumentation (mandolin, mandocello, fiddle, guitar, bass, mandola) is augmented by a string quartet to add necessary shading and colour to each track, all carefully composed by Collins. Opening with “Light from the Darkness”, the use of mandolins, bass and strings transforms the concept of nothingness into the semblance of light appearing through two distinct movements that build in intensity as the world awakens. “Firmaments” serves to define the separation of the heavens, with each member of the Trio deftly playing a pair of instruments apiece to keep this ball rolling, atop a repeated melodic theme. Contrast this with “Fish &a mp; Fowl” – an all-string assault in two parts, alternating dark to light and juxtaposing minor and major scales to represent the difference between the murky depths of the sea and the freedom of flight.  The final song – the title track – breaks into what can only be called a gleeful, up-tempo celebration of life itself. The mandolin-driven piece draws heavily upon bluegrass with its bursts of fiddle, backdrop of acoustic guitar while the bass holds down the bottom. Everyone is clearly having a Good time in “And It Was Good”, now that the hard work is done!

Tickets are $22.50 in advance and $25.00 at the door