FLORIAN PELLISIER QUINTET - Biches Bleues
HEAVENLY SWEETNESS HS114CD
Florian Pellisier (piano) Christophe Panzani (tenor & soprano saxes) Yoann Loustalot (trumpet & flugelhorn) Yoni Zelnik (bass) David Georgelet (drums)
No recording date or location given.
The archetypical jazz quintet probably reached its peak of expressiveness during the late 60’s, to mid 70’s when hard bop morphed into modal post modernism or the style Miles Davis described as “time, no changes”, when form wrestled with freedom and a once popular idiom turned itself into a refined art form requiring a degree of concentration not readily offered by the typical jazz club audience.
Parisian pianist, Florian Pellisier’s impressive music harks back to that point of transition, reflects upon it and moves it forward in a way that respects the tradition and, at the same time, opens our ears to new possibilities. Together with his talented crew he takes Blue Note inspired vamps and subjects them to Eurocentric reflectiveness. Take a track like “Valse Pour Helene” which quickly concedes its bright innocence to a torrid contrapuntal dialogue that nudges the fringes of free jazz without sacrificing tonal coherence.
Much is made of collective improvisation at the expense of solo bravura and even the leader’s highly eloquent piano is mainly deployed in the construction of textural harmonies that underpin the conversational interchange between the horn men. All the tunes appear to be originals except one relatively obscure Wayne Shorter composition which sort of nails the group’s artistic affiliations and establishes a respectful connection between reverence for the golden age of post modern bop and more forward looking aspirations.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
HEAVENLY SWEETNESS HS114CD
Florian Pellisier (piano) Christophe Panzani (tenor & soprano saxes) Yoann Loustalot (trumpet & flugelhorn) Yoni Zelnik (bass) David Georgelet (drums)
No recording date or location given.
The archetypical jazz quintet probably reached its peak of expressiveness during the late 60’s, to mid 70’s when hard bop morphed into modal post modernism or the style Miles Davis described as “time, no changes”, when form wrestled with freedom and a once popular idiom turned itself into a refined art form requiring a degree of concentration not readily offered by the typical jazz club audience.
Parisian pianist, Florian Pellisier’s impressive music harks back to that point of transition, reflects upon it and moves it forward in a way that respects the tradition and, at the same time, opens our ears to new possibilities. Together with his talented crew he takes Blue Note inspired vamps and subjects them to Eurocentric reflectiveness. Take a track like “Valse Pour Helene” which quickly concedes its bright innocence to a torrid contrapuntal dialogue that nudges the fringes of free jazz without sacrificing tonal coherence.
Much is made of collective improvisation at the expense of solo bravura and even the leader’s highly eloquent piano is mainly deployed in the construction of textural harmonies that underpin the conversational interchange between the horn men. All the tunes appear to be originals except one relatively obscure Wayne Shorter composition which sort of nails the group’s artistic affiliations and establishes a respectful connection between reverence for the golden age of post modern bop and more forward looking aspirations.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
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