Francois Carrier: The Joy of Being

Continuing their world travels, the team of reedman François Carrier and percussionist Michel Lambert again meet acoustic bassist Rafal Mazur, almost a year to the day from the recording of Unknowable at the Alchemia Jazz Klub in Krakow, Poland to create The Joy Of Being.

Much of what can be said about "spontaneous" jazz in general or of how these players interact specifically can be found in the earlier review.

What is particularly interesting in this meeting is the sense of intimacy, concentration and flow. While any player who spends their time making music spontaneously would naturally be attuned and sensitive to the "present" moment, how it came to be and where it might go, Carrier's music is an extension of how he views life in all of its mystery.

The very titles given to the tracks indicate that Carrier felt this particular meeting was special, and the music does indeed have a "True Nature" and a "Mystery of Creation" feel to it. There is most definitely "The Joy of Being" central binding strand to the set as well as an "Omnipresent Beauty" mixed with "Blissfulness."

Yes, all of this can come across as sounding trite, but music, any music, can be extremely powerful when the space between the performer and the listener disappears, and the two become one. Classical music as well as jazz listeners love to talk about those special recordings or live performances that had that special something.

Carrier, as well as Lambert bring The Joy of Being to every performance and all of his recordings over the years have a strong sense being completely prepared to forget everything and just play. On this album, Rafal project supreme confidence and effortlessness in meshing with duo.

The journey continues....