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Daniel Fortin: Brinks
ByMelodic and harmonic duties are shared by vibraphonist Michael Davidson and tenor saxophonist David French. Davidson is an extraordinarily gifted musician. Like Tyler Blanton, Matt Moran and Jason Adasiewicz, he's developed a distinctive voice on the vibraphone; one that's quite unlike Gary Burton's or Bobby Hutcherson's. He gets a big sound out of the vibes, using the vibrato sparingly, but to great effect. French, who gigs regularly with both Ragnelli and Davidson, is an interesting player. He has a light, breathy tone that suits this music's cerebral nature. While not an ecstatic, expressive sort of player, his solos are full of abstract, unpredictable lines and interesting phrases, rather like Joe Henderson.
Fortin's original compositions, are generally pretty interesting, even unpredictable. "Verona" seems to gather a set of phrases and repeat them in different ways to generate subtly shifting harmonies. Thus, the solos develop in different ways. On "Mince," Fortin's electric bass weaves in and out of the melody, played by French, as Davidson ad libs and Ragnelli's subtly funky drums provide forward motion. The set's two ballads, "Flecks" and "Progress Bar" are quite gripping. The former has an unexpected, up-tempo coda at the end, while the latter settles into a funky, down-tempo line that slowly gathers steam under French's solo. Anchored by a slippery, mutable ostinato, the trance-like "So As To" almost gets into M-BASE territory, though the quartet's airy sound is quite different from anything Steve Coleman has done in a while.
Track Listing
Verona; Ends; I Don't Know; Flecks; So as To; Smithereen; Adldmbdld; Mince; Progress Bar; But Still and Yet.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Brinks | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Fresh Sound New Talent
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About Dan Fortin
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
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Brinks