This disc features six clarinetists: Jean-Sébastien Leblanc, Pierre-Emmanuel Poizat, André Moisan, Guillaume Bourque, Lori Freedman & Robert Marcel Lepage on assorted clarinets plus Nicolas Borycki on organ (3 tracks), Fraser Hollins on contrabass and Pierre Tanguay on drums. Mr. Lepage is a clarinet player with more than a dozen discs out on the Ambiances Magnétiques label, each one with a different theme or strategy. There appears to a theme for this disc but since I still can’t read French, I can’t tell you what that theme is. As a big fan of the clarinet myself, I really dig what few clarinet ensembles I’ve been able to check out. This one is equally formidable thanks to the strong writing of Lepage and the spirited playing of the clarinets and rhythm section. Lepage composes quirky, playful melodies which seem deceptively simple yet there is more going on than what we hear on the surface. Some pieces are just the clarinets with weaving their elegant lines. I dig the way Mr. Borycki’s sly yet cheesy organ adds a certain lounge-like charm to Rainettes à la brunante. The ever-inspired Lori Freedman takes a couple of fine bass clarinet solos here, which is yet another reason to savor this gem. What I like most about this disc is that none of it is very avant or overly adventurous. The music stands on its own quietly inventive and thoughtfully played enchantments.