Ducret is a true ensemble leader here -- in fact, it isn’t until nearly the conclusion of “Le Menteur dans l’Annexe” midway through the disc that the guitarist interrupts an undercurrent of treated vocal babble to unleash a frantic solo. The members of the five-man horn/reed section -- who play saxophones from soprano to baritone, clarinets, flute, trumpet, trombone, and bugle -- get opportunities to strut their soloing stuff in modes from free to funk, but otherwise focus on counterpoint riffage and massed buildups highlighting total ensemble power. Tom Gareil’s vibraphone and marimba accent the herky-jerky rhythms, contributing -- as do Ducret’s noise guitar, Paul Brousseau’s keys and samplers, and Antonin Rayon’s Rhodes and clavinet -- to timbres that are sometimes crisp and brittle to the breaking point. The nearly 15-minute opening “Total Machine” starts almost impossibly funky with a lowdown buzzy two-note repeated phrase, maybe sampler-produced, joined by rattling guitar, muted blurty horn, and various other instruments in clipped, animated phraseology as the drums introduce a stop-start rhythm and the horns spiral out over the top. After an abrupt stop, an unsteady skewed pulse rings out -- sounding like vibes plus keys in nearly Reich-ian minimalist fashion -- serving as a focal point for Berne-ish unison and counterpoint lines from the bandmembers in various combinations, twisting funk-jazz into a polyrhythmic pretzel beneath squalling solo spots.
Le Sens de la Marche has been compared to Frank Zappa circa The Grand Wazoo, and the thematic material in “Tapage” might be considered the most direct Zappa homage here, but the free dialogues and buildup of roiling energy arguably take this further. There are calmer interludes, as at the beginning of “Le Menteur dans l’Annexe” and throughout “Aquatique,” a soundtrack for an underwater world that floats gently in crystalline clarity and avoids sharp instrumental attacks, although this world is not without ominous colors. “Aquatique” is presented as a live set-closer, and the audience, fully attuned to the comparatively hushed dynamics, nevertheless offers up exuberant applause. The band returns in a similar mood for the roughly eight-minute intro to the concluding “Nouvelles Nouvelles du Front,” but then explodes into an ever-changing journey -- complete with some of the album's hottest soloing -- that echoes both the unbridled wildness and consummate control heard previously throughout the disc. Le Sens de la Marche was issued in a limited edition of 2,500 copies; as they say, "Get 'em while they last." - Dave Lynch
From the word go, guitarist Marc Ducret's Le sens de la marche enters another world, an unsettled one full of surprise and anguish—one for which there can be no preparation. Vaguely reminiscent of Frank Zappa, King Crimson and Tim Berne, it's a musical hubbub of organized chaos—systematic in theory but brutal and brilliant in practice.
The references, however, are many and various. Ducret's jungle is wild and urbane; on "Tapage," the distant echoes of Duke Ellington's jungle can be heard, revisited here in a modern megalopolis. Meticulously well-constructed, Ducret's music is a welter of kaleidoscopic ideas. Protean, it never follows straight lines, but rather loses itself in twists and turns, some soft, some brutal, wallowing in the art of breaking with tradition, with no holds barred. It is both powerful and violent, at times shocking and creating a dialogue with the both imagination and gut instincts.
Ducret's no-man's land is shady, reviving the senses, demanding attention and provoking surprise and expectation on "Aquatique." His constantly fluid, powerful writing creates U-turns, while managing to captivate from start to finish. This is also true of the 26-minute closer, "Nouvelles nouvelles du front,"("New News From the Front"), recalling News From the Front (Winter & Winter, 2004). On Le sens de la marche, however, Ducret is not the same man but remains faithful to his musical aesthetic; his music is not so much about playing but, through his tortured guitar and the fusion of energy, is a path that he has to beat out in order to echo the musicians he evokes.
He's also a great orchestrator who shares but never hogs the stage. There is a collaborative force in this music, recorded in November 2007 at the Avignon's Delerium—a grandiose, timeless baroque venue for the performing arts in the Cite des Papes, and an ideal setting for this rich, highly-charged music. It was there that he brought together a bevy of new musicians to support the old guard in the rhythm section—bassist Bruno Chevillon and drummer Eric Echampard, who together form a kind of National Youth Orchestra (if only the guitarist had been half-interested in that).
With a remarkable sense of the collective, everyone in the group puts in their penny's worth, be it the magic dust of Antonin Rayon's crazy keyboards (who also plays with Alexandra Grimal); saxophonist Mathieu Metzger, who can also be heard on reedist Louis Sclavis' Lost on the Way (ECM, 2009) and adds razor-sharp wildness to the mix; or Yann Lecollaire, with his inspired clarinet breaks. Every musician contributes to this tangled web, each playing a part in its formidably complex structure.
Entering this musical universe as if going into a labyrinth, would be easy to get lost were it not for the fact that Ducret guides, with brio, down the right path. But rather than looking for the way out, Le sens de la marche encourages remaining lost in it a good while longer. - Jean-Marc Gelin (Translation by Eve Judson)
Tracks
1. Total Machine
2. Tapage
3. Le Menteur dans l’Annexe
4. Aquatique
5. Nouvelles Nouvelles du Front
MARC DUCRET guitar
BRUNO CHEVILLON bass, e-bass
ERIC ECHAMPARD drums
ANTONIN RAYON keyboards
PAUL BROUSSEAU keyboards, samplers
TOM GAREIL vibraphone, marimba
MATTHIEU METZGER alto & soprano saxophones
HUGUES MAYOT tenor saxophone, bass saxophone
YANN LECOLLAIRE clarinet, flute
PASCAL GACHET trumpet, bugle
JEAN LUCAS trombone
All compositions by Marc Ducret
Recorded in November 2007 at Délirium, Avignon except “Aquatique” recorded at L’Auditorium du Thor on 26 April 2003
(Illusions) - ILL 313004 France