Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Steve Lacy: The Holy La

126

Steve Lacy: The Holy La

By

View read count
Steve Lacy: The Holy La
From the first note of The Holy La, you know you’re in the hands of a master. The tone is authoritative, and lower than the high hard sound of the soprano sax we associate with the Coltrane of “My Favorite Things.” The tune is from Monk, “Shuffle Boil,” and the trio, together in one combination or another for the better part of 30 years, demonstrates their affinity for off-kilter rhythms and infallible swing. The Holy La serves as something of a greatest hits package, as the band revisits and reinterprets several compositions from their long collective history.

The selections on the first half of the CD are all less than five minutes each, and the trio makes its statements tastefully and succinctly. The tone of the title track is yielding and Lacy plays in a relaxed fashion as the music sways, while the individual notes on “Flakes” fall like dry snow caught in the gentle throws of a breeze. The tracks get longer with “The Wane” as Jean-Jacques Avenel’s bass holds down the beat with resonant echoing notes and Lacy’s horn moans long and low like a dying siren.

“Clichés” features Avenel on the sanza, a.k.a. kalimba or thumb-piano. John Betsch’s jungle drums persist in the background and Lacy’s part is sinuous and snaky. Vocalist Irene Aebi (Lacy’s wife) guests on two tracks, the more successful of which is “Retreat,” where she sings in her native French and her vocalizing becomes a more natural component of the music. Avenel’s beautifully bowed solo takes off from the original melody and prompts a song-within-the-song, with Lacy’s horn turning almost flute-like. Betsch’s dramatic splash of cymbal ends the track with a flourish.

The Holy La is filled with nervous blues, contrasting textures, and emotional depth. It’s wonderfully recorded, with crisp highs and warm lows in a spacious and airy environment. The music is twisty, with serpentine melodies, its circular nature at times creating a feeling of claustrophobia. You’re not always sure the musicians are going to get out, but they do every time, and you begin to breathe a bit more confidently. The effect is tense, dramatic, and ultimately, very rewarding.

Track Listing

1. Shuffle Boil 5:32 2. The Holy La 4:13 3. Inside My Head 4:48 4. Blue Jay 3:43 5. Flakes 5:50 6. The Wane 8:58 7. Clich

Personnel

Steve Lacy
saxophone, soprano

Steve Lacy - Soprano Sax; John Betsch - Drums; Irene Aebi - Vocals; Jean-Jacques Avenel - Bass.

Album information

Title: The Holy La | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.