Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kartet: Grand Laps

Kartet: Grand Laps

By Glenn Astarita
March 21, 2014
View read count

Track review of "Pass Pass"

Kartet celebrates its 25th anniversary and with the latest rendition, Belgian drummer Stephane Galland replaces Chander Sardjoe and alto saxophonist Guillaume Orti adds the C-Melody and F mezzo-soprano saxophones to his arsenal. Indeed, it's a unique entity. With the ambiance of chamber music fare and uncluttered designs, the musicians generate a rhythmic nirvana via geometrically modeled ostinatos and odd-metered time signatures, while also using space as a vantage point. From a holistic perception, the soloists engineer themes that feature reverse linear progressions, or something to that effect. Hence, it's a primary source of interest because the core thematic statements could be hummed in reverse and still makes perfect sense, akin to reversible outerwear that looks good in both colors and patterns.

Pianist

Benoit Delbecq

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Benoit Delbecq and bassist Hubert Dupont launch a commanding up-tempo ostinato with Galland's buoyant pulse on "Pass Pass." Orti chimes in as the band executes angular unison choruses. But Dupont atomizes and reformulates the primary motif during his extended bass solo, serving as a rite of passage moving forward. The saxophonist's exploratory solo is given some oomph due to Galland's sweeping and crackling beats as the quartet restructures the core melody atop undulating currents and slowly winds it down for the finale. Hence, the rhythmic outline of the album and the artists' engagingly hip presentation casts a spellbinding voyage, enabling one's imagination to run amok. Count Grand Laps as an early contender for top honors in 2014.

Learn more about our star rating system

Personnel

Kartet

band / ensemble / orchestra

Guillaume Orti: saxophones; Benoit Delbecq: piano; Hubert Dupont: bass; Stephane Galland: drums.

Album information

Title: Grand Laps | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Songlines Recordings

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Threshold
< Previous

Miles at the Fillmore - Miles Davis ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.