Three of a Kind – Made up Melodies

The first thing that strikes you about this three-way conversation is the fluidity of the discourse. Whether the guitar and sax are laying out the theme in unison, or weaving clever counterpoints with each other’s lines, the aesthetic is one of melodic and harmonic subtlety, though the delivery can be pugnacious in places.

These three know how to listen to each other, and interplay between them is a priority. They’ve divided up the compositions and solos between them, and the intertwining phrasing constantly challenges the listener’s ear, who will no doubt recognize the influence of Jimmy Giuffre’s trio with Jim Hall on guitar.

The result is a joyful, serene or playful music that unabashedly asserts a pleasure in playing that makes it timeless. Nothing here sounds intellectual, nor does it manifest a desire for abstract research.

The fact that three Frenchmen based in New York have taken up this aesthetic shows just how universal this language has become, and these three musicians express themselves with a sincerity and generosity that win us over.

If in places it’s the shadow of Sonny Rollins (his period with Jim Hall, of course) that points its nose, elsewhere it’s the “Two of a Mind” of Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan that is evoked. In other words, these thirty-somethings have solid roots that never lead them to indulge in nostalgia or backwardness.

Isn’t melody timeless, and the tendency to make one’s instrument sing – Jon Boutellier‘s tenor and soprano, of course, but Michael Valeanu‘s guitar and Clovis Nicolas‘s double bass too – universal? We’re on familiar ground here, where the tunes sound obvious, which doesn’t prevent these three to throw in a few surprises along the way.

It’s hard to resist such charm and candor.