This trio is pure jazz with composed pieces and improvised tracks, but all with an adventurous streak, and that's only possible and successful because of the superb musicianship both technically and creatively. Sclavis is of course on bass clarinet, but also on soprano sax, Craig Taborn plays piano and Tom Rainey drums, without a doubt each among the best on their instrument today.
The compositions range between the melancholy ("La Visite") and the joyful ("Up Down Up", "Possibilities"), or even the slightly insane ("Luccioles"), but all of them are musical delights. On "La Visite", on which after a long and sad Taborn piano moment, Sclavis brings some of the most heart-rending bass clarinet-playing that I've heard in a while, slowly driving his beautiful playing to a wailing climax.
Sclavis is excellent throughout, using his full skillset on the clarinet from classical over swing to modern music, Taborn and Rainey are not only functional but they create the overall environment becoming a perfect fit for the variations in mood and styles, not just accompanying but creating the context in which the soloist must journey. Despite the variations, the music is still very coherent. One of Sclavis' least polished albums, yet the rawness of the adventure suits him quite well.
Listen and download from eMusic.
Buy from Instantjazz.
© stef
2 comments:
Sadly Mr. Foltz is not very known in in the english speaking world, but i guess he is in the french speaking one. There are others like him. If Sclavis was not on ecm how many of us would have heard of him. These guys are giants on the clarinet. I wonder if Manfred has ever heard Foltz play? He should.
Additionally, looked at Down Beat poll today and Sclavis did not reach the top 10. French disconnection?
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