actuellecd

Review

The New York City Jazz Record, no. 214, February 1, 2020

On Sukoku pour Pygmées, reedplayer Jean Derome, a central presence in Quebec’s new music collective Ambiances Magnétiques, culls three works composed ten years apart. Starting with Les Dangereux Zhoms (pianist Guillaume Dostaler, bassist Pierre Cartier, drummer Pierre Tanguay), the foursome is augmented by violin, two more woodwinds, three horns (including tuba), electric guitar, percussion, plus a director to cue events. The title track, a flexible canon, derives from a Sudoku puzzle solution, with two parent scales (together containing all 12 pitches) and independent assignments for each voice, generating a decentered yet well-balanced contrapuntal web. 7 Danses (pour «15»), a suite, ranges from roiling folk dance to off-kilter jazz waltz to rubato pastoral. 5 pensées (pour le caoutchouc dur) is expansive, carnivalesque, fueled by low tumbling horns, vocalistic cries, climaxing in a smooth but skronky polka.

5 pensées (pour le caoutchouc dur) is expansive, carnivalesque, fueled by low tumbling horns, vocalistic cries, climaxing in a smooth but skronky polka.