Erik Truffaz - Saloua
Erik Truffaz
Saloua
2005 Blue Note
So I first found out about Mssr. Truffaz when I got a cut-out bin copy of his Blue Note debut, The Mask, several years ago. It was very Miles derivative, but had some imaginative twists, not the least of which being a penchant for cutting edge electronics, textural segues and ethnic flourishes that were not so much window dressing as much as bright strands woven into a more subtle tapestry. He has since been producing a steady stream of such releases, each one showing those same tendencies, but not a boring sameness. He is part of that small clutch of very glaring Miles Davis-inspired trumpeters who also exhibit Miles' tendency towards experimentation and not sitting still. Names like Wallace Roney, Nils Petter Molvaer, Dave Douglas and Tim Hagans come to mind.
Saloua is not quite as good as its predecessor, Walk of the Giant Turtle, and I'm still trying to decide if I dig it more than I think I do. I picked up a promo copy about a month prior to release, and that was in July. I am still taking it in. It has a heavy North African/Arabic element, which generally appeals, particulary since the music evokes a sense of space much like an ascetic desert expanse. Purifying, haunting, from one view desolate, from another liberating. The use of sung vocals in Arabic --on cuts like Ines for example-- is perfect. It is like a call from the minnaret to come to the jazz club. Other vocals, as the english rap on Big Wheel is hopelessly clumsy and preachy, with a backing track that seems pedestrian. However, the spiralling grooves, and trading vocals between the Arabic (by Nya) and the English rhymes (by Mounir Troudi) works on the track Yarbous, although like Big Wheel they are a little bit on the Bono-side of soapbox saccarine. About a third of the tracks have some form of vocals.
His rhytm section is his secret weapon; they are very much in sync, using samples and a broad palette of beat science methods to build grooves and breaks for Truffaz to riff and ride over. Organic jungle swells into a post-bop flush and can eventually lead to lilting passages of laid back swinging psychedelica. This is ably assisted by the often offbeat guitar work; Manu Codija like to mix those tried and true jazz chord vamps with some grating noises, bleats, scratches, and manipulated debris to add a layer of tension that may otherwise not have been there.
Ghost Drummer should have been a 2 minutes segue/interlude track, not a 4+ minutes of slack filler. Spirale is bordering on avant-garde in its self-assembly and dissassembly. Dubophone is as its namesake, prodding a little spacey dub science into a meandering trumpet performance that sounds like someone having a friendly phone conversation with you. There is quite a bit of variety here.
Saloua
2005 Blue Note
So I first found out about Mssr. Truffaz when I got a cut-out bin copy of his Blue Note debut, The Mask, several years ago. It was very Miles derivative, but had some imaginative twists, not the least of which being a penchant for cutting edge electronics, textural segues and ethnic flourishes that were not so much window dressing as much as bright strands woven into a more subtle tapestry. He has since been producing a steady stream of such releases, each one showing those same tendencies, but not a boring sameness. He is part of that small clutch of very glaring Miles Davis-inspired trumpeters who also exhibit Miles' tendency towards experimentation and not sitting still. Names like Wallace Roney, Nils Petter Molvaer, Dave Douglas and Tim Hagans come to mind.
Saloua is not quite as good as its predecessor, Walk of the Giant Turtle, and I'm still trying to decide if I dig it more than I think I do. I picked up a promo copy about a month prior to release, and that was in July. I am still taking it in. It has a heavy North African/Arabic element, which generally appeals, particulary since the music evokes a sense of space much like an ascetic desert expanse. Purifying, haunting, from one view desolate, from another liberating. The use of sung vocals in Arabic --on cuts like Ines for example-- is perfect. It is like a call from the minnaret to come to the jazz club. Other vocals, as the english rap on Big Wheel is hopelessly clumsy and preachy, with a backing track that seems pedestrian. However, the spiralling grooves, and trading vocals between the Arabic (by Nya) and the English rhymes (by Mounir Troudi) works on the track Yarbous, although like Big Wheel they are a little bit on the Bono-side of soapbox saccarine. About a third of the tracks have some form of vocals.
His rhytm section is his secret weapon; they are very much in sync, using samples and a broad palette of beat science methods to build grooves and breaks for Truffaz to riff and ride over. Organic jungle swells into a post-bop flush and can eventually lead to lilting passages of laid back swinging psychedelica. This is ably assisted by the often offbeat guitar work; Manu Codija like to mix those tried and true jazz chord vamps with some grating noises, bleats, scratches, and manipulated debris to add a layer of tension that may otherwise not have been there.
Ghost Drummer should have been a 2 minutes segue/interlude track, not a 4+ minutes of slack filler. Spirale is bordering on avant-garde in its self-assembly and dissassembly. Dubophone is as its namesake, prodding a little spacey dub science into a meandering trumpet performance that sounds like someone having a friendly phone conversation with you. There is quite a bit of variety here.
posted by theloniusfunk at 4:13 PM
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