Label: Sunnyside Records, 2022
Personnel - Marc Mommaas: tenor and soprano saxophones; Gary Versace: piano; Nate Radley: guitar; Jay Anderson: acoustic bass.
Dutch saxophonist Marc Mommaas, who has been based in New York since 1997, records regularly for the Sunnyside label with small drum-less ensembles. For his latest album, The Impressionist, he drew inspiration from the music of 20th-century French composer Gabriel Fauré (an icon of impressionism in music) as well as the New York pandemic times. Enlisting the talents of keyboardist Gary Versace, guitarist Nate Radley and bassist Jay Anderson, Mommaas outlined the eight tracks on the album with a quiet, floaty quality that comes to terms with his own feelings during difficult times. Although more conceptual than some of his previous works, I experienced dilemmas while trying to relate with complexions that, favoring more order than chaos, needed some more stimulation.
The highlights of the album, “Nostalgia” and “Float Away”, are stamped with emotionally induced saxophone solos. Launching the album, the former piece develops soulfully and plaintively with Mommaas and Anderson in melodic consonance, while Radley and Versace successfully avoid messing up the space when it comes to comping. There’a also silvery elucidation from Anderson here in a statement filled with lyricism. The latter piece, instead, besides the nice unison melody designed by soprano sax and piano, lives from fluid improvisations.
The title track pretty much flows in the same vein of the opening tune, featuring the flickering, tremolo-steeped synth-like guitar of Radley throughout. The theme is not as impressive though as the comparable piece I just specified. “C’est La Vie”, a tune about contemplation and acceptance, arrives with understated and emotive detail in the call-and-response between guitar and piano, shifting to triple meter in its denouement. Dedicated to the one who inspired him for this work, Mommaas made “Fauré” unequivocally classical, enhancing the gallantry in the harmony for a chamber music mood.
The last two tracks attempt something different. “Free Above All” explores more freely, employing distorted guitar swells and featuring the saxophonist in a soprano monologue turned interlocution with the arrival of the pianist. “Moving On” brings the album to a close with the optimism of a soothing pop song.
The placid temper of the majority of the songs results in a mix of dreamy and pale atmospheres. There’s definitely strong interplay among these great musicians, but a wide-ranging perspective would have given the album a more imposing character.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Nostalgia ► 05 - Float Away ► 07 - Free Above All