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A ben dieci anni dall’ottimo Torticolis ritorna il quintetto guidato da Jean Derome, (poliedrico fiatista canadese) questa volta caratterizzato da una maggiore propensione verso un jazz “dilatato” anziché (come nell’uscita precedente) “contaminato”. Innanzitutto colpisce la scrittura meticolosa di Jean: temi finemente lavorati attraverso il paziente intarsio fiatistico tra i sax e il flauto del leader con il trombone del sempre ottimo Tom Walsh mirabilmente sostenuti da una sezione ritmica dotata di grande versatilità: propensione improvvisativa non disgiunta da una costante ricerca lirico/melodica. Mi riferisco al piano di Guillame Dostaler (subentrato alla chitarra di René Lussier), alla batteria di Pierre Tanguay e, infine, al ben noto Pierre Cartier (basso e voce). Il risultato è un cd assai compatto costituito da sei tracce aperte dall’arioso tema di Hiboux (paradigmatico esempio della sinergia prodotta dalla coppia Derome/Walsh) su sui si insinua il meditativo basso di Pierre e il liquido percussionismo di Tanguay. Nez qui coule sviluppa un tema piuttosto contorto esposto dal trombone e sostenuto dal piano di Dostaler con accordi molto essenziali e profondi, da qui il dipartirsi di un reticolo variegato di percorsi solistici senza mai perdere, però, un rigoroso sguardo d’insieme. Da ricordare anche l’esuberante energia collettiva (una sorta di “post-bop”) di To Continue introdotta da una gustoso pastiche vocale del “quintetto tutto” così l’insistito contrappunto de Cogné un genou. Se l’atmosfera malmostosamente notturna de La Grenouille et le Bœuf ricorda da vicino di lavori solisti di Pierre Cartier (qui impegnato anche alla voce) Prières, una sorta di ballata destrutturata e silente, chiude degnamente questo quarto capitolo dei Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms.
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Ironic attitude with an approach to melody that is best described as angular and cubistic, but softened by a lilt of French impressionism, is what we get from the 5 improvising men that are DeromeTom Walsh on trombone, Guillaume Dostaler on piano, Pierre Cartier on electric bass, Pierre Tanguay on drums and all five on vocals in the title cut. (Cartier also does the singing in the fable La Grenouille et le Bœuf).
In rendering the six Derome compositions on this disc, the quintet of Montréal voices delivers a distinct group sound. Derome, known to many in the improvised music and musique actuelle scene (he is also one of its production motors), possesses a recognizable alto saxophone voice, with its driven sense of direction and acrobatic ingenuity that is the aural equivalent of a refined circus act. He’s accompanied by equally distinct voices, starting with his usual partner in musical adventure, Pierre Tanguay, a drummer who plays from simple, centered ideas that mutate into sophisticated variations. Walsh’s trombone voice is rich in overtones and humor, while Cartier’s electric bass stitches the tunes together with a firm sense of purpose. Pianist Dostaler leaves lots of space, which he incorporates into his conceptions, even in his featured solo spots, not unlike Monk.
There are many interesting musical moments both quirky and serene throughout the disc, including the English word-based title cut and the setting of the La Fontaine fable La Grenouille et le Bœuf ("The Frog and the Ox") that Cartier intones in fine-form expressionistic contortions. The best, however, is the longest: Prières ("Prayers"), a 25 minute piece that is a lesson in textures and the blending of voices and interweaving of the composed and the improvised. It features a piano solo accompanied by very spare band responses, then builds into a slow whirling of lines and textures that gives way to a trombone solo where Walsh gets the chance to "testify", then on to a drum solo and more building, with, from time to time, solo statements taking the upper hand. Then a return to piano solos and more development of motives wrought into the earlier exposition. A study in form, contrasts, colors, voices, lines, and harmonies at the center of which is Derome’s saxophone soaring in fearless inventiveness.
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Nach 10 Jahren schlugen Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms wieder zu und versprechen mit To Continue (AM 172) sogar mehr. Konkret bezieht sich der Titel auf Richard Serras Actions to Relate to Oneself (1968), die das Quintett als Auftakt des Titelstückes a capella rezitiert, bevor Pierre Tanguay einen They-are-coming-to-take-me-away-Beat zu klopfen beginnt. Bei La Grenouille et le Bœuf singt der E-Bassist Pierre Cartier La Fontaines Fabel Der Frosch, der so groß sein wollte wie der Ochse, eine ambivalente Geschichte, die sich als Kritik am Größenwahn von Fröschen lesen lässt, aber auch daran, wie man Ochsen-Privilegien schützt, indem man Ambitionen lächerlich macht. Hier ist das Klavier nicht in seinem Biedersinn gefragt, sondern seiner Analysefähigkeit, und so wird es von Guillaume Dostaler auch gespielt. Tom Walsh Posaunenton repräsentiert eine selbstbewusste Froschperspektive, die Tanguay mit durchwegs aufrührerischen Rhythmen unterstützt. Das Hauptstück Prières würde ich daher auch gern verstehen als ‘Gebete’ etwa im Sinn von Voltaires: Oh Herr, bitte mache alle meine Feinde lächerlich, auch wenn diese 24 Min. lange von Melancholie und Bedrücktheit geprägt sind. Die Posaune fleht bluesig, bis die Drums einen Umschwung einfordern, eine energische Selbstermächtigung, die ostinat So nicht! sagt. Auch Deromes Saxophon klagt, aber aus der Klage wird jetzt Eifer, der in Schwung kommt und sich in Begeisterung verwandelt, die dem ’Ochsentum’ eine Nase dreht.
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Jean Derome returns with another CD with his Dangereux Zhoms. After a silence of ten years, now the fourth CD by this ensemble sees the light after Carnets de voyage (1994), Navré (1995), and Torticolis (1998). With Tom Walsh (trombone), Guilaume Dostaler (piano), Pierre Cartier (electric bass), Pierre Tanguay (drums) and Derome himself on saxes and flute, we are 65 minutes entertained with new compositions by Derome. A music that is most close to jazz, but that is above all in between everything. With plenty of room for improvisation the music always stays in the neighborhood of the themes that Derome composed. After so many records out Derome does not surprise with something completely new, but satisfies with a very well-crafted new work by a fine ensemble. Impressive I found the solo of Derome in the last 24-minute composition Prières, were he cries his heart out. Honest music.
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