1. Dream Flight
2. Rotha & Priska
3. Jive Five
4. Song for Jaco
5, Twelve
6. Plan 9
7. Kokopanitsa
8. Romanichel
9. Montreal
10. Hanging Out on the Roofs
11. A Demain
Peter Erskine - Drums, timpani, percussion
Nguyen Le - Electric guitar
Michel Benita - Bass
Stephane Guillaume - Tenor sax, soprano sax
This trio - joined here by
saxophonist Stephane Guillaume - is a very
cosmopolitan group. Drummer Peter Erskine
is an American; guitarist Nguyen Le was born
in Paris to Vietnamese parents; and Michael
Benita is Algerian, but moved to Paris in
1981. So you might expect a mixture of styles
on this CD and that is what you get.
The exotic Asian feel of
the title-track may reflect Nguyen's Vietnamese
roots, with Stephane's soprano sax soaring
to the skies. Rotha & Priska is
grittier, with sax and guitar battling for
supremacy. Jive Five is closer to the
jazz-fusion that Erskine played when he was
with Weather Report. Nguyen's guitar playing
here is as adventurous as Jimi Hendrix, making
the instrument scream and groan. On other
tracks, Nguyen is more reminiscent of Pat
Metheny, drawing similarly rich timbres from
the guitar.
Peter Erskine's composition
Song for Jaco is a pensive elegy, bringing
Michael Benita's bass rightly to the fore,
with the guitar lines suggesting the breadth
of the sounds that Jaco Pastorius could make
on his fretless bass. Erskine also wrote Twelve,
a melody that wanders in unpredictable directions.
Benita contributes a good solo, backed only
by Erskine's subtle brushes. The mood in this
and several other pieces is measured and spacious
- in your ear but not in your face.
Another Erskine composition
- Plan 9 - has Nguyen at his most Methenyesque
but, again, the group leaves plenty of air
for the music to breathe. Peter Erskine gets
to do a drum solo which is well balanced.
By contrast, Kokopanitsa is almost
heavy metal, with Nguyen making the guitar
speak authoritatively. Then comes another
contrast: the slow-paced Romanichet,
with an air of mystery accentuated by Guillaume's
plaintive tenor sax.
Guillaume switches to soprano
sax for Montreal, riding high above
the firm bass-lines of composer Michel Benita.
Guillaume wrote Hanging Out on the Roofs,
with tenor sax and guitar strolling along
happily together. The closing tune is another
track that makes its point without ostentation
but with abundant musicianship.
The whole CD is recorded
clearly, with good balance and an airy feeling
that fits the music well. Despite Nguyen Le's
occasional moves into Hendrix country, this
is an album whose appeal creeps up on you
gradually - an appeal that only strengthens
with each hearing.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
The ACT Company ACT 9467-2
