Naufragés
Arté Boréal, 2021
8/10
The bassist, composer and educator Alex Lefaivre, who is a founding member of the Parc X Trio, takes up company with Erik Hove, Nicolas Ferron and Alain Bourgeois here, as they offer us 5 originals and 3 covers of very diverse song craft.
“Time Of The Barracudas” starts the listen with Hove’s brass acrobatics aligning fluidly with Lefaivre’s complicated bass work in the playful jazz opener, and “Boiler Room” follows with Bourgeois’ fluid drumming anchoring the more rock focused climate that’s not short on melody.
At the midpoint, “Hommage Jazz á ‘Passe Partout’” showcases Ferron’s incredible guitar work amid the rugged but very tuneful landscape, while “Reset” emits a hypnotic display where the soulful sax and charming bass playing are met with agile drumming.
Arriving near the end, “Sin City” offers a very calm, reflective late album highlight, and “Immigrant Song” exits the listen with plenty of rock’n’roll spirit as they turn in a very fun interpretation of the Led Zeppelin classic.
The quartet cultivate a very distinct jazz style here, where cinematic moments and textured bouts of grace and grit meet at a highly interesting intersection. The quartet’s last album, 2018’s Yul, garnered much acclaim, and this one could and should produce a similar result.
Travels well with: Jonathan Bauer- Sings & Plays; Joel Frahm- The Bright Side