Jean-Philippe Grégoire - Sounds from the Delta (2014)

Jean-Philippe Gregoire is a French composer/guitarist residing in Paris. His new solo album is entitled Sounds From The Delta.

On this album Grégoire is joined by Baptiste Herbin (saxophones), Martin Guimbellot (bass) and Nicolas Charlier (drums). Grégoire is an outstanding jazz guitarist with a lovely tone and he leaves his mark on every track. That said, his band are no slouches and he gives them plenty of room to shine. Take the first track "No Te Preocupes" as a prime example. Herbin's sax work is stellar here and Grégoire's guitar has such a nice tone, sounding like electric piano in spots. Certainly a nice start to the album. The bluesy title track is more sparse, with subtle drumming and a nice guitar and sax solo. Guimbellot really makes his presence felt on the bass. "Histology" is a short rollicking up-tempo track with guitar and sax taking the lead while "Azer-Tyu-Iop" is slower and more sultry with a smoky jazz club flavour. "One For Mr. K" is more upbeat with lovely piano and another stylish solo from Grégoire. In the album's latter half Grégoire does a nice job providing his own arrangements to a couple of classics, Debussy's "Clair De Lune" and "Just Friends", originally penned by Klenner and Lewis.

Grégoire has produced a fine jazz album with Sounds From The Delta. The melodies are sweet and sultry and the playing is top notch by all involved. A classy record indeed.~ Jon Neudorf