Label: Panoramic Recordings, 2020
Personnel - Xavier Del Castillo: sSaxophone; Yoshie Fruchter: oud; Cat Toren: piano, chimes, tuning forks, singing bowls, rattles, bells; Jake Leckie: bass; Matt Honor: drums + guest Stephanie Rooker (#1): chimes, tuning forks, singing bowls
The follow-up to Human Kind, the debut work from the Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-based pianist/composer Cat Toren, is called Scintillating Beauty. The album comprises just four tracks, which are enough to get people involved in its sound healing techniques and positive activism. The simpatico group merges the modal jazz from he 60’s with a charming touch of world music that mostly comes from the oud playing of Yoshie Fruchter, a musician proficient in many genres, including klezmer and heavy metal.
Toren’s gleaming compositions are instilled with a deep lyrical instinct, transpiring in wavelets and relying on clever instrumental passages mounted into clear structural settings. The 16-minute “Radiance in Veils” gently rises and shines in a peaceful state of innocence - the gentle percussive chimes and rattles are reinforced by guest artist Stephanie Rooker - and progresses through the subsequent stages of human life. The pianist’s inspiration here did not just come from her first born daughter but also from two phrases by Martin Luther King. Saxophonist Xavier Del Castillo and Toren testify soulfully over the modal carpet weaved by the rhythm section, the former with a clear and assertive style, and the latter with a tranquil dreamlike quality. You’ll find reflexive moments and sudden controlled eruptions filled with busy saxophone runs before a chromatically rich oud solo. Finishing the song, the propulsive drumming of Matt Honor gets some flavorful Middle-Eastern spices tossed in.
“Garment of Destiny” carries a lyrical poignancy, initiated with a heart-rending piano intro and continued with Jake Leckie’s bass pedal sustaining the ruminative oud crocheting. A slow-burning divagation is installed before a flurry of saxophone assertions surfaces above the colorful harmonic progression.
Whereas “Ignis Fatuus” swings unabashedly, incurring in a post-bop terrain that recalls pianist George Russell, “Rising Phoenix” diffuses spellbinding fascination. The soft radiance that emanates from the opening section - atmospherically driven by organ - intensifies with the beefy tone of Del Castillo’s prayerful saxophone. The group then dips in a sort of pop-folk, lightly gospelized by polished and direct chordal movements.
Although less adventurous when compared with Myra Melford, the eclecticism of Cat Toren has a lot to offer. The healing powers of her music are very much creditable.
Grade B+
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Radiance in Veils ► 04 - Rising Phoenix