JOACHIM CAFFONNETTE TRIO - Vers L’Azur Noir
NeuKlang: NCD4205
Joachim Caffonnette: piano; Alex Gilson: bass; Jean Baptiste Pinet: drums
Recorded November 2017 by Angelica Roca at Jet Studio, Brussels and September 2018 by Vincent de Bast at Cellule 133a, Brussels
The title of this set comes from a poem by Arthur Rimbaud and Caffonnette, in his liner notes, uses this phrase to capture the desperate hope of migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea. This is a motif that he returns to on several occasions – either in memory of a small migrant girl shot by a policeman in Belgium (‘A Mawda’, track 7) or ‘Tripoli’s sorrow’ (track 3) - the latter a mournful ballad and the former shifting between elegy and a post-bop waltz. The end of ‘A Mawda’ also has a burst of applause and cheers of the live audience from the recording of the final three numbers. The set contains three cover versions. ‘Monk’s dream’ (track 8) allows Caffonnette to position his considerable post-bop keyboard skills alongside one of his idols; ‘Sugar man’ (track 6) takes a theme from Sixto Rodriguez (who found unexpected fame as a musician in South Africa after leaving the USA); and the Beatles' ‘Hey Jude’ (track 4), which begins with a ticking piano note and strummed bass before gently slipping into the melody – and then into a beautifully realised improvisation.
From around 2016, the trio began playing together and toured the following year before recording the first part of this set. There is a palpable unity in the playing (which the three live tracks emphasise) in which each member of the trio instinctively grasps and responds to his band-mates, and a deep understanding of Caffonnette’s compositions. The band are currently touring the UK and, if you’re lucky enough to have them pitch up near you, it will be worth going along to see them.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
NeuKlang: NCD4205
Joachim Caffonnette: piano; Alex Gilson: bass; Jean Baptiste Pinet: drums
Recorded November 2017 by Angelica Roca at Jet Studio, Brussels and September 2018 by Vincent de Bast at Cellule 133a, Brussels
The title of this set comes from a poem by Arthur Rimbaud and Caffonnette, in his liner notes, uses this phrase to capture the desperate hope of migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea. This is a motif that he returns to on several occasions – either in memory of a small migrant girl shot by a policeman in Belgium (‘A Mawda’, track 7) or ‘Tripoli’s sorrow’ (track 3) - the latter a mournful ballad and the former shifting between elegy and a post-bop waltz. The end of ‘A Mawda’ also has a burst of applause and cheers of the live audience from the recording of the final three numbers. The set contains three cover versions. ‘Monk’s dream’ (track 8) allows Caffonnette to position his considerable post-bop keyboard skills alongside one of his idols; ‘Sugar man’ (track 6) takes a theme from Sixto Rodriguez (who found unexpected fame as a musician in South Africa after leaving the USA); and the Beatles' ‘Hey Jude’ (track 4), which begins with a ticking piano note and strummed bass before gently slipping into the melody – and then into a beautifully realised improvisation.
From around 2016, the trio began playing together and toured the following year before recording the first part of this set. There is a palpable unity in the playing (which the three live tracks emphasise) in which each member of the trio instinctively grasps and responds to his band-mates, and a deep understanding of Caffonnette’s compositions. The band are currently touring the UK and, if you’re lucky enough to have them pitch up near you, it will be worth going along to see them.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
