François Carrier / Dewey Redman / Michel Donato / Ron Séguin / Michel Lambert
Open Spaces
2006 - Spool, LINE 27: SPL 127
http://www.spoolmusic.com/line-27.html
* François Carrier : alto saxophone
* Dewey Redman : tenor saxophone
* Michel Donato : bass
* Ron Séguin : bass
* Michel Lambert : drums
The time-honored tradition of an accomplished jazz artist traveling alone,
hooking up with like-minded musicians far off the beaten path, and creating
music that approaches or belongs in the first tier of the artist’s recordings,
is alive and well on Open Spaces. Alto saxophonist François Carrier, drummer
Michel Lambert and bassists Michel Donato and Ron Séguin (Donato plays on one
track, Séguin on the other two) were more than ready for Dewey Redman on these
1999 performances, recorded live in Québec. They understood that the tenor
titan needed little prompting – a pulse, a riff, a notion of a mood – to become
engaged and quickly take the music upstairs. On “Going Through,” it is a
plaintive Carrier line that Redman latches onto; on the title track, it’s a
half-speed boppish phrase. Regardless of the starting point, Redman glides in
when the music approaches a simmer, giving his cohorts a boost without
saturating the music. Still, “With The Flow” is perhaps the most revealing
track of the date. Redman and Séguin begin with a pensive dialogue that builds
with the entries of Carrier and Lambert, culminating in an exciting, thoroughly
collective statement. Therein lies Redman’s solution to the intrinsic
proposition of these situations: How does an artist make an audience feel they
have gotten a fulfilling, truly representative performance, while giving his
collaborators full franchise? Keep it open; let it build; let everyone flag
their flag at the summit. Generosity is not a prerequisite of greatness in
jazz; but, it is a common trait among jazz’s greats, including Dewey
Redman. This rewarding album is ample proof.
