I love synchronicity. As soon as I check a few books out of the library by members of a literary movement called Oulipo, I get this CD by Jean Derome done as a tribute to Georges Perec, one of the mainstays of Oulipo. The main composition, Je me souviens consists of 26 short pieces inspired by musical references in Perec’s book of the same title. The music, composed for a 13-piece ensemble, ranges from jazz to circus music to r&b to spaghetti western soundtracks (the booklet lists “models” for each piece). Comparisons to John Zorn are probably unavoidable, but the size of the ensemble here requires the music to be more tightly written and arranged, with a lot less room for improvisation. The other composition on the CD, Tu r’luttes is subtitled “seventeen varied games for twelve improvisers”. Much more improvisatory and chaotic (at least it sounds that way), it comes even closer to Zorn territory, yet the instruments, mostly winds and percussion, give the music a feel that is less harsh and more RIO-like. One final note
