Heteroklite Lockdown

Description

Lorsqu’il arrive dans l’histoire, un gros travail d’arrangement a déjà été effectué sur le répertoire, mais dès la première répétition le batteur trouve sa place, en apportant sa rigueur, son imagination et sa science du timbre. ‘In this type of configuration where the slightest impact of a stick on a cymbal, the slightest intonation of a snare drum suddenly takes on a decisive importance in the balance of the collective discourse, being like him, both solid and precise, has proven to be a valuable asset in the development of a group sound.’
Very quickly at the idea of revisiting a handful of standards that have entered the collective imagination well beyond the circle of jazz enthusiasts (‘Round About Midnight’, ‘What Is This Thing Called Love?’, ‘Besame Mucho’), and resurrecting a few gems buried in the rich catalog of themes by the double bassist (‘Fertile Danse’ created in 1998 on the album ‘Mosaïc Man’ and ‘Islaz’, the eponymous title of a legendary recording by the Transatlantic Quartet released ten years earlier…), the three men decided to each add a new composition of their own. If ‘Take Your Time’ by Sébastien Texier, ‘Forest Forgive Them’ by Gautier Garrigue, and ‘Bacri’s Mood’ by Henri Texier fit so naturally into the program, it is because beyond their obvious intrinsic melodic qualities, the direct and unpretentious way in which the trio approaches them on par with the others, diving resolutely into the heart of the song, gives the whole an undeniable aesthetic unity. ‘I wanted to place this recording under the sign of two values that I find increasingly essential in any form of art: precision and simplicity! It is revealed in an obvious way, in my opinion, in the frontal manner we chose to play the melodies! We never sought to show off with flourishes, arabesques, and comments; we always remained faithful to the letter, staying as close as possible to the song and the poetry of the composition. When a melody is beautiful, it must be respected; it is the best way to touch the emotion it holds. But this choice of simplicity is a real risk. An incredible challenge!’
This challenge, if admirably met throughout in a powerfully collective manner, nevertheless rests largely on the shoulders of Sébastien Texier, whose nuanced beauty of the fluted timbre of his alto saxophone may have never been better heard than on this record, as well as his very controlled way of combining formal rigor, expressive intensity, and lyrical imagination in the heat of improvisation. ‘This is a record for which I take full responsibility as a leader, but which was conceived in close collaboration with the other two members of the trio and is based on a true common discourse. It is collectively that to fully embrace this ode to melody, we placed Sébastien in the position of the singer, highlighting his lyricism. Throughout, he finds himself in a position to carry the melody alone and develop it in his improvisations, and the way he takes responsibility by choosing to play only the alto saxophone for the first time on a record and embracing total freedom of expression touches me deeply!’
And indeed, constantly inventive, fully engaged in the heart of the melody with an airy phrasing often evoking through its fluidity, sense of space, and discreet elegance the ghost of the great stylists of west coast jazz, Sébastien Texier not only gives the whole its general color and its quite particular emotional intensity but also displays in these tracks a new authority and serenity that undoubtedly place him among the best European saxophonists.
In the end, captured without an audience in live conditions on the stage of the Triton, this music which, on paper, could have seemed austere in its ascetic nudity, nostalgic and self-referential in its choice to revisit a repertoire partly of standards and old compositions reveals itself in spirit and gesture to be all about openness and liveliness — extraordinarily contemporary and embodied to live fully in the present.
‘What we feel in this record is the initial impulse: we had no argument to defend; no justification to give; no concept to embody; no extra-musical story to defend or illustrate — we just made music in a reflex of survival, for the beauty of the gesture!’
Pure music, naked music, free music…
Stéphane Ollivier