Manu Katché - Live in concert (2014)

After a four album stint with ECM, French/Ivorian percussionist Manu Katché releases his ACT debut, recorded on an electrifying evening (in June 2014) in the famed Parisian club New Morning. Katché and his quartet played some 130 concerts last year, which gives them impressive cohesion; the sound is superbly solid, sweeping all before it. Braced by layers of Hammond organ from the subtle Jim Watson, trumpeter Luca Aquino now standing in for the excellent Nils Petter Molvaer takes flight. Inside his percussive tone threads the same, velvet lyricism dispensed by Paolo Fresu, one of his former teachers. The twin voices of Tore Brunborg, tenor and soprano saxophones close to Jan Garbarek, conduct a perfect dialogue with the elegant arabesques from the trumpet. Jim Watson, whose heavy responsibility is to provide all the bass parts with his Hammond B3, shows himself to be just as inspired as when behind a grand piano. His rare solos are compact, stripped to the essentials, and far from any hollow virtuosity: they bring welcome breathing-space. The skilled mix of discreet, electronic contributions with a dominant, acoustic sound constitutes one of this group's major strengths. Listening carefully, you notice that these musicians cleverly mix an extreme rigour into their creative liberties in order that everything will remain possible. It's obvious that they listen to each other attentively: they show respect for each other, never seeking to assert themselves, even less gain the upper hand. With the concert over, in the midst of the crowd on their (regretful) way out of the New Morning, one can feel that the magic of this genuinely special night will take a long time to evaporate.