Forever Young
GLM, 2021
8/10
A very accomplished pair who have been collaborating for well over a decade now, Forever Young presents the piano of Nicole Heartseeker with Mulo Francel’s saxophone and clarinet across 17 very well thought out track that interpret legends like Handel, Schubert, Kempff, among others.
“Delight Inside” starts the album with warm keys alongside soulful saxophone as an elegant, stirring mood is cultivated with much skill, and this formula continues to Bach’s “Sinfonia in F Major”, where their interpretation of classical sounds unfolds with much intimacy.
Further along, “Mia Bella”, an original, quivers with both mystery and intrigue, while Jules Massenet’s “Ouvre tes yeux bleus” uses clarinet strategically amid Heartseeker’s agile piano prowess. “Enlarged Heart”, an album highlight, then injects timeless jazz influences into the pair’s sophisticated formula with much emotion.
Nearing the end, “Lazy Days” flows with a darker quality that still presents much beauty in its lush, cinematic approach, and “Oblivion”, by Astor Piazzolla, exits the listen with firm, creative deliveries from both keys and brass that you’re likely not going to hear anywhere else.
Although much of the music here is rooted in classical lineage, the duo’s improvisational skills, not to mention Heartseeker’s classical training and Francel’s time in the esteemed jazz outfit Quadro Nuevo, help make this a very unique adventure with much attention to melody, that, even at over an hour, never out welcomes its stay.
Travels well with: Zixiang Wang- First Piano Sonatas; Ludwig Van Beethoven- Complete Sonatas For Piano & Violin On Historic Instruments