Record Reviews

VINCENT THEKAL ~ CLIMAX RAGTIME 002 ~ FRANCE ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by French saxophonist / composer Vincent ThekalFind albums by this artist, recorded in a trio format with bassist Daniele CappucciFind albums by this artist and drummer Armando LuongoFind albums by this artist. Pianist Matthieu RoffeFind albums by this artist guests on one track and baritone saxophonist Bo Van der WerfFind albums by this artist guests on three tracks. The album presents eight original compositions, seven of which were composed by Thekal and one by Cappucci. Jazz saxophone trio is a very difficult undertaking and constitutes the ultimate challenge for any saxophonist, especially so for musicians in the early stages of their career. Therefore it´s a pleasure to see Thekal and his cohorts stand up to the challenge and emerge victorious. They play a very engaged and ambitious set of modern Jazz compositions, mostly within the mainstream idiom, but often venturing into almost Free territory in the heat of the improvised passages. The compositions have all strong melody lines, which are characterized by lyrical melancholy dominating the slower / ballad pieces and a joy of life on the up tempo numbers. The overall level of the compositions is surprisingly outstanding. The trio is a naked, intimate musical eco-system, which requires an absolutely symbiotic relationship, and this trio is definitely up for the challenge. Thekal plays with a lot of dynamics and his clear, beautiful timbre works like a charm. The rhythm section steps out well beyond the accompaniment role and becomes an integral piece of the ensemble, which grows to be stronger than the sum of its individual parts. Cappucci lays down a superb bottom to the music, playing inspired and technically brilliant bass phrases, which anchor the entire proceedings and expand the music´s scope and sound. Luongo adds another dimension with his unusual approach to the rhythm, playing mostly around it rather than measuring time. His parts are a superb example of modern Jazz drumming, which places the drum set on the same level as the leading instruments. The two guest musicians also contribute greatly to the success of the album. Van der Werf plays some magic baritone lines and his duets with Thekal are an aesthetic delight. Roffe plays a funk Fender Rhodes piano on the tune composed by Cappucci, and Thekal plays soprano on the same tune, which is an absolute gem, although stylistically somewhat different stylistically from the rest of the album´s pieces. Overall this is an amazing debut album, which hopefully is a foreteller of things to come. I can´t wait to hear the next album, which hopefully will arrive soon enough. Well done Gentlemen!

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