Cardinal Points

Cardinal Points

ASIN: B00009IB1E

Editorial Reviews
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
Pilc took his place among the most accomplished and stylistically daring jazz pianists working today.

Product Description
Pianist/composer Jean-Michel Pilc is a resolute, constantly evolving artist. His second Dreyfus Jazz release, "Cardinal Points," features original music that defies classification—it's a startling musical roller coaster brimming with eclectic intensity and heartfelt emotion. In contrast to his last album "Welcome Home," which featured astonishing reworkings of the standard jazz repertoire, "Cardinal Points" consists mostly of Pilc's original compositions. The seven new song-length pieces on Cardinal Points explore a multitude of uncharted musical landscapes. The expanded instrumentation of soprano saxophone, percussion and electric bass further punctuate the compositions' soaring melodies, deep grooves, and thrilling dynamics. From the climatic intensity of South, which begins in a sea of calm and soon builds to dramatic summits, to the playful exuberance of Fred's Walk, Pilc manages to push the envelope in a tasteful, listenable, and often humorous way. ! Cardinal Points is a bold statement that affirms the artistry of this remarkable creator. Besides his own writing, Pilc chose to include a particularly idiosyncratic arrangement of Mood Indigo. "I take a wave of inspiration that I draw from the original tune," he explains, "and I make it materialize in sound - in vibration." As is the case with many of his interpretations, the result here is remarkably different from the original composition. Trio Sonata, a four-part work of enormous substance, was created with a grant from Chamber Music America.

Personnel: Jean-Michel Pilc - piano/whistle/melodica/percussions Sam Newsome - soprano sax James Genus - acoustic & electric bass François Moutin - acoustic bass Ari Hoenig - drums Abdou M'Boup - percussion

Cardinal Points

Tracks:

Fred's Walk
South
West
North
East
Ari's Mode
Mood Indigo
Cardinal Points
Trio Sonata - Part 1
Trio Sonata - Part 2
Trio Sonata - Part 3
Trio Sonata - Part 4

Album Description

Pianist/composer Jean-Michel Pilc is a resolute, constantly evolving artist. His second Dreyfus Jazz release, "Cardinal Points," features original music that defies classification—it's a startling musical roller coaster brimming with eclectic intensity and heartfelt emotion. In contrast to his last album "Welcome Home," which featured astonishing reworkings of the standard jazz repertoire, "Cardinal Points" consists mostly of Pilc's original compositions. The seven new song-length pieces on Cardinal Points explore a multitude of uncharted musical landscapes. The expanded instrumentation of soprano saxophone, percussion and electric bass further punctuate the compositions' soaring melodies, deep grooves, and thrilling dynamics. From the climatic intensity of South, which begins in a sea of calm and soon builds to dramatic summits, to the playful exuberance of Fred's Walk, Pilc manages to push the envelope in a tasteful, listenable, and often humorous way. ! Cardinal Points is a bold statement that affirms the artistry of this remarkable creator. Besides his own writing, Pilc chose to include a particularly idiosyncratic arrangement of Mood Indigo. "I take a wave of inspiration that I draw from the original tune," he explains, "and I make it materialize in sound - in vibration." As is the case with many of his interpretations, the result here is remarkably different from the original composition. Trio Sonata, a four-part work of enormous substance, was created with a grant from Chamber Music America.

Customer Reviews:

Outdoes his last effort (quite a feat).......2003-09-25

What has Jean-Michel Pilc learned in the year and a half since his spectacular initial release, Welcome Home?

A lot.

He's learned how to play less notes without sacrificing his monster chops. He's learned to find ideal, entirely sympathetic bandmates (Ari Hoenig, drums; James Genus, bass; and the greatly underrated Sam Newsom, soprano sax). He's learned that mood, space, and voicing are every bit as important in creating and playing effective jazz as speed.

This disc has much more of a world-jazz feel than Welcome Home, with tinges of Oriental ("East") Latin ("South) Nordic ("North") and Left Coast hip ("West") filtering through. There's even a Reggae tune "Fred's Walk." There's still plenty of virtuosity--check out the high-wire act of "Ari's Mode" as well as, esp., Part I of "Trio Sonata." It's just that there's also a lot more maturity and much closer attention paid to creating effective soundscapes. The result is a disc that in some ways is even more remarkable than its predecessor.

The incorporation of a broader musical canvas helps move things to the next level. Especially noteworthy is the playing of Sam Newsome, who has an absolutely unique and instantly recognizable sound on soprano sax. The inclusion of percussionist Abdou M'Boup on four cuts adds exotic flavor and coloration. Pilc also shows himself to be a composer to reckon with. The title track, with its attractive head and tricky/sinuous piano-sax unison lines proves to be a perfect vehicle for some startling Pilc solo flights of fancy (including a teasingly brief quote of "Eleanor Rigby") and Sam Newsome's finest solo on record. James Genus's acoustic bass solo (he mainly plays e-bass here, and I for one would like to hear more of him on acoustic) is also quite something, as is Ari Hoenig's drum solo that merges into a driving percussion passage from M'Boup.

Tracks:

Fred's Walk
South
West
North
East
Ari's Mode
Mood Indigo
Cardinal Points
Trio Sonata, Pt. 1
Trio Sonata, Pt. 2
Trio Sonata, Pt. 3
Trio Sonata, Pt. 4

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music