Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Olivier Le Goas & Reciprocity: Onramp Of Heaven Dreams

Olivier Le Goas & Reciprocity: Onramp Of Heaven Dreams

By Dan McClenaghan
June 14, 2020
View read count

Olivier Le Goas & Reciprocity: Onramp Of Heaven Dreams

A blindfolded spin of French drummer Olivier Le Goas & Reciprocity's Onramp Of Heaven Dreams says the spirit of guitarist

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny is hanging around. The lineup—guitar, piano, bass and drums—mirrors that of Metheny's early ECM Records such as Watercolors (1977) and American Garage (1979), and the disc's title itself nods to Metheny's Offramp (ECM Records,1982). This in the year 2020, when Metheny released a career highlight, From this Place (Nonesuch Records).

Olivier's sound has a clean, sharp-edged fusion atmosphere which is rhythmically and harmonically adventurous. The pulse moves through complex time signatures. The melding of guitar and piano seems to fashion an entirely new instrumental hybrid. It is an all-star session, with guitarist

Nir Felder

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Nir Felder's expansive, glowing sustain, pianist

John Escreet

piano
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">John Escreet's eloquence and bassist

Larry Grenadier

bass, acoustic
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Grenadier's solid foundations coming together in a mini-orchestral way.

The set opens with "Realize," one of nine Le Goas originals, a surging, well-oiled, highly-refined mechanism crafting a densely textured sound. "Life Size Dreams" (another Metheny nod) has a more pastoral feel, featuring superb soloing by Escreet and Felder inside a surging rhythm. "Highway Dreams" shows the group's balladic acumen—a beautiful, introspective piece, with bassist Grenadier going arco on the opening, giving way to Felder's graceful, patient guitar turn, on the loveliest tune of the disc.

The set wraps up with the only non Le Goas original, Paul Simon's "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright," with Felder bringing up memories of

Wes Montgomery

guitar
1923 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Wes Montgomery's sound on the Creed Taylor-produced A Day In The Life (A&M/CTI, 1967), a gorgeous and captivating way to close the show.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Realize; Light Size Dreams; Early In The Morning; Highway Dreams; A Day With You; Oblique Song; Resurrection Now; A Place Inside; Break Light; So Long Frank Lloyd Wright.

Personnel

Olivier Le Goas

drums

Nir Felder

guitar

John Escreet

piano

Larry Grenadier

bass, acoustic

Album information

Title: Onramp Of Heaven Dreams | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Challenge Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Str?k p? himlen och stora hus
< Previous

B.B. King: Through the Years
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.