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Raphaël Pannier Quartet: Faune
ByLeading a top-notch quartet featuring alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon, pianist Aaron Goldberg and bassist Francois Moutin, Pannier makes the grade and moves time and space with his kit. One need only look at some of his original compositions to realize the degree of flexibility at work here. Whether conversationally swinging and pivoting on the bop-friendly "Midtown Blues," leading the band through mutable machinations on "Lullaby," or toggling between gears on the radiant "Fauna," Pannier proves impressive. His technique is second to none, he feels music with both firmness and pliancy, and he shapes every arclarge or smallwith dynamic intention(s).
While this newcomer delivers well-wrought originals and engages with this music's history via the aforementioned Coleman classic and a thrilling and imaginative take on Wayne Shorter's Miles Davis-associated "ESP," he's not limited to the past and present of postmodern jazz. Pannier branches out into Brazilian territory with Hamilton de Holanda's buoyantly charming "Capricho de Raphael." And, of even greater importance and interest, he engages classical music both on his own terms and within its specific confines. The quartet, with Giorgi Mikadze taking over on piano, moves through Olivier Messiaen's Le Baiser de L'enfant Jésus with sweeping suggestions of beauty and pathos; and Pannier draws around the particulars of Maurice Ravel's Forlane, giving the work an air of fantasy that's completely fluid. Teeming with beauty and bent on highlighting both unanimity and expressive independence, Faune is first-rate in every way.
Track Listing
Lonely Woman; Midtown Blues; Lullaby; Messiaen: Le Baiser de L'enfant Jesus; Intro to ESP; ESP; Outro to ESP; Ravel "Forlane"; Fauna; Capricho de Raphael; Monkey Puzzle Tree; Final: Drum Soli
Personnel
Raphaël Pannier
drumsMiguel Zenon
saxophone, altoAaron Goldberg
pianoFrancois Moutin
bassGiorgi Mikadze
pianoAdditional Instrumentation
Giorgi Mikadze (4, 8, 11).
Album information
Title: Faune | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: French Paradox
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