The event itself was, admittedly, more memorable for the presence of the great American guitarist John Abercrombie, of whom my friends and I were in particular awe at the time. Abercrombie was impressive that night, mastering the music and spinning a few threads of his own along the way.

But Fresu did enough that night to stay on our radar ever since, and make his return a welcome one.

Aside from the bare feet, which we took for an ironic comment on Italian footwear, it was the first time that many of us had heard a trumpeter who was prepared to explicitly emulate Miles Davis.

Most American trumpeters . . . with the honourable exception of Chet Baker . . . steered well clear of Miles's light, clear tone for fear perhaps of not being able to escape comparison, but also because trumpeter machismo probably drew them more towards the muscle men like Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard.

Apparently untroubled by machismo, Fresu was frank in his homage to Miles, and to this day he retains that febrile, desolate sound that Miles Davis introduced to jazz. To further make the point, Fresu had ranged before him an array of effects pedal which he used to impressive effect during the evening, setting up delayed loops and adding layers of sound to his natural trumpet sound.

Miles was of course the first horn player to hook up to a wah-wah pedal in the early '70s and Fresu's embrace of technology was something of which Miles would surely approve.

Fresu returns to Dublin next weekend with his own group in a very different frame of mind.

Sonos 'E Memoria, is a collaboration with film-maker Gianfranco Cabbidu , and celebrates the heritage and history of his home, the island of Sardinia. Cabbidu discovered lost footage of life in Sardinia in the 1930s by accident, and approached fellow Sardinian Fresu with a view to putting a sound track to it. Which is what Fresu and his group do live, with the footage as a backdrop.

What is perhaps most intriguing about this son et lumiere for an Irish audience is the parallels with our own islands. Islands, by their nature, tend to preserve culture and resist the modern world, and just as Tory, Aran and Blasket have been aspics for our pre-modern heritage, so Sardinia in the 1930s was a place little altered by the 20th century that was sweeping through the rest of Italy.

The group that Fresu has assembled for Sonos 'E Memoria is impressive and includes fellow islanders, the virtuosic bassist Furio di Castri and the ebullient accordionist Antonello Salis.

Also featured in the eight-piece band, and of interest to the traditional set, will be the launeddas, a kind of triple clarinet related to the uileann pipes, which dates at least from the 8th century BC. The launeddas has drawn the attention of jazz saxophonists like Dave Liebman and Evan Parker, who have both recorded with launeddas players.

With layers of voices, an ensemble of the highest quality, and a fascinating documentary as a backdrop, Sonos 'E Memoria is a worthy addition to the Dublin Theatre Festival programme. And as a testament to how things have changed in 20 years, advance booking is recommended with the Theatre Festival box office, Many more than 100 people are expected this time.