Uninterrupted Hour of Straight-Ahead Jazz

courtesy of Play MPE

The beginning of this month saw the release of the latest album of jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, born in Paris and now living in Montreal. Alive – Live at Dièse Onze, Montréal is, as the title suggests, a concert recording from a club in that city. Pilc leads a trio, whose other members are Rémi-Jean LeBlanc on bass and Jim Doxas on drums. The album has five tracks; but the five selections were performed seamlessly with transitions that were barely audible (if they were audible at all).

The five selections are as follows:

1. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (Sigmund Romberg)
2. 11 Sharp (the first of two Pilc originals)
3. Nardis (Miles Davis)
4. All Blues (also Davis)
5. Alive (the title track and second Pilc original)

The audience for this gig clearly “got” that sense of seamless continuity that Pilc intended: If there were sounds from anyone other than the musicians, they were barely audible.

While the performance was highly focused, there was no shortage of playful disposition. Through his improvisations, Pilc can take even the most familiar tunes into unknown territory; and both LeBlanc and Doxas had no trouble staking out that territory with their own improvisations. “11 sharp” presumably refers to a rigidly-defined time at which something important would begin or end. Pilc’s performance amounted to an exploration of the restlessness that comes when one is waiting to that moment to arrive. Personally, however, I was glad to encounter a take on the Davis selections, unfolding original improvisations rather than honoring the music’s “classic” status.

Presumably, the attentive listener with a serious interest in inventive jazz will come away from this hour-long listening experience with the same satisfaction enjoyed by Pilc’s audience.