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Carl Clements: A Different Light

By Dan McClenaghan
May 29, 2024
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Sunlight beaming into a church through a stained-glass window is a different light—tinted and soft-hued, suggestive of the presence of divinity. Saxophonist Carl Clements' quartet outing, A Different Light, gives the same impression. Looking to the album's stained glass-like cover art, artist Amanda Barrow's visual for the album seems a fine fit for this distinctive, modern jazz quartet. The painting's colors are mostly muted, with two overlapping spheres (Neptune and Uranus? Or gas giants from another solar system?) in eclipse, bringing a church of the cosmos to mind. But these musings could be speculation. Music hits different ears in different ways. What is certain is that this saxophone and a rhythm section quartet makes a distinctive ensemble sound.

The disc opens with "Onset." It has a fractured glass mosaic sound, It scampers, like Mercury zipping around the sun. It exudes a machine-like precision, like the mathematical workings of a solar system. Though there are perturbations:

Chase Morrin

piano
b.1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Chase Morrin's frenetic, free-flying piano solo, for example, followed by

Bruno Raberg

bass, acoustic
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Bruno Raberg's gravitational bass solo, accompanied by drummer

Gen Yoshimura

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Gen Yoshimura's rat-ta-tat mode that sounds like the raining of space dust and bits of asteroid belt gravel.

Clement plays tenor and soprano saxophones. Also, a bansuri, a wooden instrument that originated in the Indian subcontinent. World jazz shadings move in and out of the ensemble sound. The title tune has a spiritual,

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter-like vibe; Clements is on the soprano here, and his tone is exquisite. There is patience in the storytelling of the tune. Imagine—going back to the cover art again, from a different perspective—non-vertebrate deep-sea life, moving slowly, deliberately under immense pressure, vibrant despite their harsh environment.

Much is made of

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's 1960s quartet with bassist

Jimmy Garrison

bass, acoustic
1934 - 1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Garrison, pianist

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner and drummer

Elvin Jones

drums
1927 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Elvin Jones, for the synchronicity and collective energy in their perfection of expression of the leader's vision. The same goes for saxophonist

Oded Tzur

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Oded Tzur and his quartets. Carl Clements and his A Different Life quartet travel a similar searching path on this remarkable recording.

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Track Listing

Onset; Sanyog; A New Leaf; A Different Light; In Sight; Tango Extra?o; Before Again; Absence/Return; Good Luck, Bad Luck (Who Knows?).

Personnel

Carl Clements

saxophone

Chase Morrin

piano

Bruno Raberg

bass, acoustic

Gen Yoshimura

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Carl Clements: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, and bansuri.

Album information

Title: A Different Light | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Greydisc Records

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