Label: ECM Records, 2019

Personnel - Louis Sclavis: clarinet, bass clarinet; Benjamin Moussay: piano; Sarah Murcia: double bass; Christophe Lavergne: drums.

15 years after Napoli’s Walls (ECM, 2004), French clarinetist Louis Sclavis revisits the street art of Ernest Pignon-Ernest, using it as an inspiration for his musical journeys. At odds with that first chapter - shaped with reeds, cello, electronics, vocals, guitar, and brass - this more comprehensive new work, titled Characters On a Wall, features the clarinetist leading an acoustic quartet whose musical richness is exalted by pianist Benjamin Moussay, a frequent collaborator, and two younger talents, bassist Sarah Murcia and drummer Christophe Lavergne.

The ensemble is found at its most lyrical on Sclavis’ “L’Heure Pasolini”, using their instrumental sensitivity to describe interesting sceneries. In fact, the four instruments are felt as one, such is the integrity and intimacy revealed in their playing. This first track is the longest piece on the album and encapsulates a rubato intro before adjusting to a melancholic 4/4 chamber pop cycle that transfigures into a brighter waltz during its last quarter.

A simmering sense of groove (in seven) is brought to Moussay’s “Shadows and Lines”, encouraging discipline and creative freedom alike. The shifts in rhythm bring the group’s rock-solid foundation to our attention, while the immersive bass clarinet takes us to pure avant-garde delight. Likewise, the graceful brushed details timely tossed out by Lavergne establishes a strong affinity with what’s happening around him. His maturity and finesse deserve acclamation.

Introduced by piano, “La Dame de Martigues” flows with a chordal chain that evokes poignancy, romanticism, and illumination within a mix of delicate classical erudition and modern composition. The icy-warm harmonies employed here differ from the urgency of “Prison”, a 5/8 Eastern-tinged dance with impeccable unisons and extraordinary solos from double bass and bass clarinet. The bandleader's compositions traverse musical, cultural, and emotional boundaries, and the closer, “Darwich Dans La Ville”, deliberately jumps into world fusion, motivated by portraits of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwich stuck to the walls of Ramallah. Infusing a great deal of color while grooving in seven, the quartet shapes this tune with a thumping and exotic percussive drive and swift bass-piano runs, which have the company of the clarinet in specific segments. It also features Murcia and Sclavis at their most creative as they stretch out with soulful inspiration.

Spacious, amorphous, and completely improvised, “Esquisse 1” and “Esquisse 2” clock in at two minutes each. The former is particularly attractive, radiating an air of mystery through the deep, dark tones of the bowed bass, obscure piano voicings with occasional string manipulation, roaming clarinet, and modest percussive aesthetics.

Sclavis’ new angle of approach is a triumph. By turns, the music enraptures, grooves, and soars, disseminating a commendable energy that fulfills even in moments of contemplative reserve or ambiguous exploration.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Shadows and Lines ► 06 - Prison ► 08 - Darwich Dans La Ville

Label/Year: ECM, 2017

Lineup - Louis Sclavis: clarinets; Dominique Pifarély: violin; Vincent Courtois: cello.

French clarinetist, Louis Sclavis, emerged as a leader in the 80s, but it was during the 00s that his music got more attention with seductive records like L'affrontement des Prétendants, Dans La Nuit, Le Phare, and L'imparfait des Langues. In his voluminous musical universe, styles such as post-bop, avant-garde, and modern chamber jazz are pretty common.

His new record, Asian Fields Variations, recorded with two long-time associates, violinist Dominique Pifarély and cellist Vincent Courtois, is now available on ECM and wields interesting chamber jazz with punctual dashes of world music. It’s curious to notice that the violinist and the cellist had shared numerous musical experiences with Sclavis before, but the trio had never recorded together.

“Mont Myon” comes wrapped in amiable tones, encouraging everyone to breathe easily. The levels of tension and contrapuntal interaction are slightly increased during the middle section, but the threesome returns to literate wintry soundscapes for the finale, conjuring up memories of John Surman and Tigran Hamasyan.

The following three small pieces, “Done and Done”, “Pensée Furtive”, and “Figure Absente” were composed and played solo by Courtois, Sclavis, and Pifarély, respectively.

In “Asian Fields” we have a violin-cello ostinato in the background while Sclavis is on the loose. The cycle eventually breaks into an Oriental passage, coaxing Courtois to intervene on his own. His sounds bring the world fusion of Rabih Abou Khalil into mind, a fact that is not so strange if we think that he and Pifarély have collaborated with the Lebanese musician in the past. The initial ostinato is reframed, only this time with Pifarély and Sclavis switching positions.

On “Fifteen Weeks”, each member of the trio revolves around a melodic phrase that is brought up in a sequential way. This tune, acquiring a cheerless composure, contrasts with the vivacious avant-gardish sceneries of “Cèdre” and the more-Western-than-Eastern crusades of “Les Nuits”.

Sclavis, Pifarély, and Courtois carve their own niche of followers on the strength of clear ideas and congruous interplay. The variety of tones and styles are preponderant in the final result, which should attract devotees of modern creative jazz, as well as world and classical music.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Mont Myon ► 05 – Asian Fields ► 09 – Cèdre