Switzerland reared tenor sax ace and composer Nicolas Masson draws inspiration from Yoshitoshi Taiso's (1839-1892) woodblock paintings. Hence, emotion and impressionism is projected via the power of jazz music, as Masson and his quartet render a poly-angled view that incorporates the artist's lucid imagery and contrasting colors. With Thirty Six Ghosts, the saxophonist leads a concentrated group-focused program, steeped within structure and loosely devised implementations.
Masson and his accomplices dish out driving jazz-rock pulses with large doses of punch and snap, yet equalize their approach with ethereal passages, sparked by Colin Vallon's airy Fender Rhodes work. However, Vallon and Masson align as a formidable improv duo amid brash movements and scorching grooves. Hence, the rhythm section—bassist Patrice Morel and drummer Lionel Friedli—plays a prominent role within the totality of the program, in concert with the front line's interweaving ebbs and flows. Masson possesses singing qualities, often shifting the unit into sonorous motifs where he toggles between high-impact and yearning lines.
Another component that serves the band well is its sense of balance. The musicians alternate an ominous and thrusting sound with introspective dialogues that blossom into full-throttle assaults. On "Yeah Baby," Masson's linear phrasings and Friedli's cymbal swashes provide counterpoint to Vallon's understated voicings and Moret's sublime bass notes. And they convey lots of depth by gelling the overall vibe into an ascending theme-building exercise, hued by knotty unison choruses and a take-no-prisoners mindset. Ultimately, Masson parlays a rather emotive and multicolored panorama of Taiso's artistic designs. Imagery becomes reality through the ever-expansive capabilities of progressive-jazz, used as a multi-tiered vehicle throughout this persuasive endeavor. - Glenn Astarita
Nicolas Masson plays tenor saxophone that crosses boundaries between contemporary and progressive avenues of jazz similar to American peers like David Binney or Chris Potter, just slightly on the harmonic side of Rudresh Mahanthappa. His fluid dynamics make the music accessible, but just biting enough on the edge. With a quartet dubbed Parallels, and recorded in Zurich, Switzerland, Masson takes thematic and conceptual ideas as the Thirty Six Ghosts title implies, sometimes elusive and occult, sometimes friendly and dancing. With Colin Vallon exclusively playing the Fender Rhodes electric piano, Masson taps into the retro feel of jazz-rock in the '70s with drums'n'bass music of now. The ethereal "La Phasme" or "Arsenic" cover the seen/unseen side of late-night sounds, while the lugubrious "Sentinel" has a long tone, and a stretched-out feel that challenges the imagination. More static, deliberate beats are heard on the funky fusion of "Hellboy," but near the end of the CD, selections such as the pretty but macabre "Bermuda" and the sideways-slow, then amped up "Yeah Baby" give Masson license to add more meat to the motion. Acoustic bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Lionel Friedli more than do their duty in creating rhythmic and harmonic soundscapes that inspire Masson and Vallon, but create the frameworks for their musical drawings. Certainly a sleeper on the overall modern music scene, Nicolas Masson and this quartet deserve a close listen, and a few more similar projects. - Michael G. Nastos
Tracks
1. Sirius
2. Le Phasme
3. Hellboy
4. Arsenic
5. Thirty Six Ghosts
6. Sentinel
7. Bermuda
8. Yeah Baby
9. Yûrei
PATRICE MORET double-bass
LIONEL FRIEDLI drums
COLIN VALLON electric rhodes piano
NICOLAS MASSON tenor saxophone
All music composed by Nicolas Masson
Recorded on July 30 and 31, 2008 at Radio Studio 2 in Zurich
Clean Fedd - CF163CD