Rez Abbasi (guitars); Neil Alexander (organ/electronics/synths); Michael Sarin (drums).
The first time I played this I recoiled in horror! How could they do this to the memory of Europe's most legendary jazz musician? This was the equivalent of hanging your dirty washing on somebody else's line!
Sacrilege!
I listened again and it occurred to my that I had had my ears in the wrong direction! I was expecting yesterday and thought I was hearing tomorrow when, in actual fact, upon the third hearing what I was listening to - and warming to by the minute - was very much of today.
In my defence, it was a case of pre-judgment. You see a list of tunes and you imagine guitars chugging away à la Hot Club never crossing your mind that these compositions aren't caught in a time-warp but, like the works of Gershwin, Porter, Berlin and all the rest, they are timeless.
This opened my eyes. I forgot about Stephane, Django and his brothers and took it aboard for what it is.
A modern jazz, groove based, version of some great songs by a trio that doesn't insult the originals but, by adding their own input, puts them into the context of today's music.
Rez Abbasi is rapidly moving to the forefront of contemporary guitarists, and to his credit, he has glanced over his shoulder...
Worth checking out.
Lance
Diminishing; Swing 42; Heavy Artillery; Django's Castle; Anniversary Song; Cavalerie; Douce Ambiance; Hungaria; September Song.
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