Jean-Brice Godet - Lignes de Crêtes (2017)

The name of French clarinetist Jean-Brice Godet may not ring a bell in the minds of American, German or Japanese jazz fans, but if we say he’s a regular companion of the celebrated bassist Joelle Léandre and remember that he already worked with the likes of Anthony Braxton and Fred Frith you have sufficient indication that an album signed by him really deserves an attentive listening. In this “Lignes de Crêtes” profiting from the company of two top figures of the new European scene, Pascal Niggenkemper and Sylvain Darrifourcq, Godet proposes a collection of «sound stories» suggesting the dances of «both aboriginal and punk tribes», to quote the liner notes. The trio in this record is the confluence of two of Godet’s projects, one his duo with drummer Darrifourcq, the other his Mujô Quartet, from which comes Niggenkemper and his double bass. This results in a musical formula which is in part faithful to the free jazz tradition and in the other goes to uncharted territory, in order to explore the ideas of impermanence and imperfection – more exactly, to give «diligence to a road of chaos», as Matthieu Malgrange puts it. Don’t be frightened by the words “imperfection” and “chaos”: the music is wonderful. Strange, yes, but wonderful.