SAMUEL BLASER CONSORT IN MOTION: A Mirror to Machaut
Songlines, 2013

CHAMBER JAZZ – This quintet is inspired by the music of Guillaume de Machaut, a 14th-century French composer. Four of the pieces are directly adapted from Machaut (2,4,7,11), the rest are essentially new works dripping with melancholy surrealist atmosphere and mystery. Blaser, a trombonist, is the leader but it’s very much a collective effort.

All interesting. Fo’s Picks: 3, 5, 7, 8, 9

1. 7:36 – starts slow & mournful, moves gracefully, becomes edgy in the solos
2. 1:39 – deep bass solo melody, followed by solo clarinet
3. 5:50 – surreal, floating sound: abstract, like a tiptoe through a music box
4. 3:14 – chaotic drums; slightly out-of-sync melody gives it a drunken air
5. 6:17 – a bit of electric Miles Davis in this low, mopey trudge; twisty solos
6. 4:26 – solo piano, very spare… single-note pattern blossoms in the middle
7. 2:15 – the most medieval piece, a marching rhythm with lovely harmony
8. 8:21 – rises from solo bass into a slowly twisting, meandering tune
9. 5:25 – slow pulse vs faster melodic patterns; piano goes out but not for long
10. 6:13 – more slow surrealism, unsettled, becomes active in second half
11. 5:36 – sort of suspended march flirts with psych, settles into the melody

[ Fo ] - 28 October 2013