LOUIS SCLAVIS - L' Imparfait des Langues (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Saxophonist/clarinetist and composer Louis Sclavis has displayed a relentless pursuit of the unknown in his recordings for ECM in particular and in his long career in general. Take L'Imparfait des Langues, for instance, his 2007 outing for ECM. While he's never used two bands that were exactly the same on his recordings for the label, this one is easily his most adventurous. The only remaining member of his past ensembles is drummer par excellence François Merville. The other bandmembers -- alto saxophonist Marc Baron; keyboardist, guitarist, and electronician Paul Brousseau; and guitarist Maxime Delpierre -- are all younger musicians who have very diverse musical backgrounds (not all of them in jazz per se). Sclavis assembled and rehearsed this group for a festival in Monaco, using a new compositional method, where perhaps only eight or 16 bars were structured, allowing for maximum improvisation. When the festival was unexpectedly canceled due to the death of the country's monarch, Prince Rainier, the day before, Sclavis took the band into a Paris studio and recorded the album in a single day. The spontaneity and fresh crackle of interaction and interplay are unmistakable. Sclavis led the band but used instinct instead of control to get the job done. The textures and colors created on tracks such as "La Verbe," built around a single, repetitive melodic fragment, bring the band closer to the sound of Soft Machine in their later period than any contemporary jazz group. The horns work against one another in the middle, playing short contrapuntal tones and phrases, while the guitars and keyboards color everything around them in a gauzy darkness as only Merville's drums hold the entire tune together, accentuating the beautiful strummed trills by Delpierre.

Elsewhere, as on "Palabre," a guitar riff creates the basis for the horn players to exchange and challenge one another once the head has been constructed atop the guitar. Here, the skeletal funky beginning offers shades of Eastern modality and melody, Ornette Coleman-style harmonics, and an improvisation between Sclavis and Baron so symbiotic that it is mind-blowing. There are ideas closer to what listeners expect from European jazz these days as well, such as on the wonderfully ethereal and knottily aggressive "L'Idée du Dialecte," where different musical languages are held -- however loosely -- inside the Euro jazz idiom. "Story of a Phrase" is wonderfully abrasive and slow as Delpierre uses a mild distortion pedal to play an angular -- if slightly restrained -- metal riff and both Baron and Merville find ways of creating both a melodic language and polyrhythmic counterpoint to the pulsing guitar lines. Sclavis takes his solo on the soprano and delves deep into the space between, using the guitar line to bounce off several others, all counter to the rhythms being laid down. Throughout, ambient sounds, small drones, and found samples are littered, layered, and slotted between the various players -- and this happens on virtually every track. Yes, this is most certainly a European jazz album, and a brave step for Sclavis, who probably considers this the next logical step in creating his encyclopedia of sound. But given the young ages of the players, he is stretched as well. L'Imparfait des Langues is a welcome and utterly fascinating surprise that will no doubt bring his fans closer, and hopefully extend to those who find themselves drawn to progressive music in general.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Premier imparfait 'a' 1'46
(Paul Brousseau, Louis Sclavis)
2    L'idée du dialecte 6'57
(Louis Sclavis)
3    Premier imparfait 'b' 1'01
(Paul Brousseau, Louis Sclavis)
4    Le verbe 6'42
(Louis Sclavis)
5    Dialogue with a dream 3'59
(Louis Sclavis)
6    Annonce 1'40
(Louis Sclavis)
7    Archéologie 6'12
(Louis Sclavis)
8    Deuxième imparfait 2'16
(Louis Sclavis)
9    Convocation 1'16
(Maxime Delpierre)
10    Palabre 4'00
(Louis Sclavis)
11    Le long du temps 5'30
(Louis Sclavis)
12    L'écrit sacrifié 2'25
(Louis Sclavis)
13    Story of a phrase 7'32
(Louis Sclavis)
14    L'imparfait des langues 3'57
(Louis Sclavis)
Credits :
Louis Sclavis - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone
Marc Baron - Alto Saxophone
Paul Brousseau - Keyboards, Electronics, Guitar
Maxime Delpierre - Guitar
François Merville - Drums  

LOUIS SCLAVIS - Lost on the Way (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The purely magical, tonal, dancing alto or bass clarinet and soprano saxophone of Louis Sclavis are heard fully on this recording with his quintet, where he explores a variety of ethnically inspired motifs guaranteed to delight one and all. Where improvisation has always been his strong suit, here it is relegated to solos, as his written music takes center stage. Fellow front-liner Matthieu Metzger plays alto and soprano sax -- together he and Sclavis create a whirling dervish cone of sound that reflects a definite European stance removed from American jazz. Electric guitarist Maxime Delpierre also adds a bit of electronica on occasion, while electric bass guitarist Olivier Lété and drummer François Merville keep the rhythms percolating and recreational. There's nothing really extended or drawn out, as the composed themes to the music are complex but compact. "De Charybde en Scylla" is fun to hear in its Euro-funky dance form inspired by the pithy bass clarinet of the leader. A Balkan or klezmer strain is infused into the wonderful "Bain d'Or" and a modal one-note construct is exploited for improvisation and some electronics on "Un Vent Noir," while a thin harmolodic approach à la Ornette Coleman is extant during the intro of "Les Doutes du Cyclope," merging into a diffuse funk. The band has aggressive, demonstrative tendencies, as the stompy juggernaut motion of "Des Bruits à Tisser" is wound around hollowed-out single notes, while the title track is a stealth romp with the reeds assimilating a singing accordion type sound akin to peer saxophonist David Binney. But the group generally plays on passive emotions -- listen to the nonchalant but melancholy "L'Heure des Songes"; the hesitant "Le Sommeil des Sirènes" with steady drumming juxtaposed against the loose, flowing clarinet of Sclavis; and the lonely waltz "L'Absence." Perhaps "Aboard Ulysses's Boat" brings the most evocative tone in a slow, mysterious casting jarred slightly by the curiously macabre guitar of Delpierre. The emotional range of this recording from track to track is a marvel to behold, and considering the title, not so much wandering as it is searching for that one blind spot, or the forgotten path that leads to finding treasure. This is masterpiece among many well-crafted efforts by Sclavis, and comes highly recommended for fans of or newcomers to his extraordinary music.  Michael G. Nastos
Tracklist :
1    De Charybde en Scylla 5'34
(Louis Sclavis)
2    La première île 1'24
(Olivier Lété, Louis Sclavis)
3    Lost on the Way 6'42
(Louis Sclavis)
4    Bain d'or 6'03
(Louis Sclavis)
5    Le sommeil des sirènes 7'23
(Louis Sclavis)
6    L'heure des songes 4'19
(Louis Sclavis)
7    Aboard Ulysses's Boat 5'52
(Louis Sclavis)
8    Les doutes du cyclope 6'51
(Louis Sclavis)
9    Un vent noir 3'39
(Louis Sclavis)
10    The Last Island 1'21
(Olivier Lété)
11    Des bruits à tisser 5'18
(Louis Sclavis)
12    L'absence 2'24
(Louis Sclavis)
Credits :
Louis Sclavis - Clarinets, Soprano Saxophone
Matthieu Metzger - Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Maxime Delpierre - Guitar
Olivier Lété - Bass
François Merville - Drums