A real kicker

Jul 10, 2017

thursday, july 6, 2017

Francois Carrier, Michel Lambert, Rafal Mazur, Oneness

 OK, there’s is another good one out by alto titan Francois Carrier. It is called Oneness (FMR CD444). It is a live date recorded in Krakow, Poland in 2015. Francois is joined by long-time collaborator Michel Lambert on drums and Rafal Mazur on acoustic bass guitar. Rafal gives the music more open spaces than a trio with piano would have, and so there is that much more potential for the three to proceed unhindered by overt harmonies and such.
Now that does not mean that this trio is necessarily better than some of the ones before. You can type Francois’ name in the search box above to read my positive thoughts on many of the earlier albums.

All those things aside, the music is strongly motored by the inspiration and suchness of the instrumentation.

Francois is beautifully limber and bursting at the seams with great lining ideas. The man is a fountainhead of energy and form, as much on this one as anywhere. He is one of those who is to the alto in a way what Ali was to boxing. There is continual oblique and unpredictable movement, and the series of “stings” that hit home.

Rafal gives the music continual countermelody, never quite doing what you expect. It gives the music a bottom-center that allows Francois and Michel lots of latitude.

And Michel does what he always seems to do so well–give the asymmetrical  periodicity that expands greatly what diffuse time possibilities are available and actualized.

In sum this is world-class free jazz. You probably owe it to yourself to check it out closely. It is a real kicker!

by Grego Edwards