Escaping the dark side

Description

Having passed through Boston and New York, this unknown saxophonist burst onto the French scene with staggering energy and an alto sound that sweeps everything in its path. With Ambrose Akinmusire as a special guest, this odd bird of the sax signs with “Escaping the Dark Side” an intense and spiritual album that brings mysticism back to the heart of jazz. If Plume seems to have come out of nowhere, he leaves everyone in agreement about his talent. He makes an impression on those who hear him for the first time. He makes musicians who do not know him prick up their ears. He impresses everyone who finds themselves sharing the stage with him. He captivates, in just a few notes, anyone hearing him for the first time. For the past few months, all Paris has been buzzing only about his strange bird name. Trained at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he rubbed shoulders there with the whole generation of Christian Scott, Walter Smith III (author of the album’s foreword), Ambrose Akinmusire (guest on two tracks), Jason Palmer, Warren Wolf, Kendrick Scott... who are full of praise for his talent and are reshaping jazz today. Plume chose jazz as one enters religion. For him, music is neither a pretext nor a gimmick. It is a quest. It is an obsession. It is perhaps a salvation.