Record Reviews

MICHEL PORTAL ~ ANY WAY LABEL BLEU 6544 (Barcode: 3149025057877) ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1991 - 1992 Released: 1993 This is an album by legendary French bass clarinetist / saxophonist / composer / bandleader Michel PortalFind albums by this artist, recorded with a large gathering of international Jazz musicians, which includes French violinist Didier LockwoodFind albums by this artist, bassist Jean-Francois Jenny-ClarkFind albums by this artist, percussionist Mino CineluFind albums by this artist and guitarist Nguyen LeFind albums by this artist, British trumpeter Kenny WheelerFind albums by this artist, American keyboardist Gil GoldsteinFind albums by this artist and bassist Victor BaileyFind albums by this artist, Indian percussionist Trilok GurtuFind albums by this artist, Swiss drummer Daniel HumairFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents six lengthy tracks, five of which are original compositions by Portal and one is by Cinelu. The music is based on beautiful composed themes, on which the participants improvise with obvious skill and imagination. There are strong World Music influences and excellent group improvisations. The leader plays mostly the bass clarinet, and his fame as one of the greatest virtuosi of that instrument is of course fully justified. The solo by Wheeler on the last racks is alone worth having this album in one’s collection. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect and great fun, and the musicians are obviously jamming and enjoying themselves, which is felt in the resulting music, mixing the Jazz elements with Funk and Ethnic drumming, which is very effective. Overall, this is a very unusual album, which creates an amalgam of European Jazz and Ethnic / World percussive elements, and offers some extraordinary improvised parts by some of the best musicians on this planet. A true joy!

Updated: 04/02/2025Posted: 04/02/2025

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