French jazz currents
Inspired today again thanks to some new French jazz and ‘Rue de Paris’ the first of 10 tracks on Patience.
It is unassuming, granted. But somehow magnetic charm reeled us in.
Quickly enough the atmosphere of the album latched on in its own sweet way.
Who wouldn’t be detained
It’s persuasive saxophone from Frédéric Borey first catnip for Joshua Redman appreciators. And in earlier listens we picked out trombonist Sébastien Llado when we first started to playlist some tracks on first getting used to the album. Who wouldn’t be detained unless jazz phobic?
Drift away
It’s easy to drift off to think of not only progressive contemporary jazz currents given this isn’t fogey-ish at all but also the world far across the Manche in a bit of time travelling to Nick Drake even and a certain folk wistfulness intervenes.
An unmachismo horns and rhythm section diretcion all very acoustic and no nonsense in its organic sonics prevails. The tempi chosen allow you to hear the tunes properly.
And there’s an arc to the navigation. So by the time you get to the end you feel as if you have absorbed a world and mood that the band have created from scratch.
Castets is heard here in his first album as a leader. A drummer who is more colouristic than hidebound by any metronomic diktat you wouldn’t know that he leads on a blindfold listen because in his writing the drums are not that upfront in the mix and there is a collective endeavour at play. Often drummer leaders up the levels when they are left in charge too much and the whole thing can be unbalanced. That isn’t an issue at all here.
Castets like so many jazz musicians also arrived with a classical training and studied at the Bordeaux Conservatory and later in Paris at the Didier Lockwood Music Centre. But this is no third stream amalgam of approaches, it’s far more strictly jazz than landing in any other generic centre.
The double bassist (Gabriel Midon) comes through more on ‘Histoire de mélancolie.’
I loved the voicings in the trombone and sax combinations on the title track which are very positive. The shaping works as a piece. Pianist Edouard Monnin’s licks are then fleshed out and he shows what he can do more,
French drummer’s originals resonate
Tunes are Castets’. The album was recorded in a Paris studio in 2022. There’s a lot to like here even if the album could do with being a bit more impactful. In 10 years’ time it will be fascinating to see where his new music by then takes us. The French scene is very significant in Europe and globally – check out our regular Eurojazz club guide for listings and previews. You’ll be dipping in a bit more than perhaps is your wont at the moment if encountering sounds like Patience, guaranteed.
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