Nicolas Masson: Third Reel

Tenor saxist and clarinetist Nicolas Masson joins together with the unorthodox combination of guitar (Roberto Pianca) and drums (Emanuele Maniscalco) for a highly intriguing collection of sounds and sonic directions. The material ranges from aggressive sax and electric guitar on the hard driving “Furious Seasons” to the reflective and fragile “Eleventh Winter Tale” and “After All.” A few vignettes of improvisation pop up between the slightly longer pieces, with minute long tunes like “Bley” seeming like rests between the more dramatic and bel canto tenor sax yearnings on “Orbits” and “Sparrow.” Maniscalco’s drumming fits every mood from dawn to dusk, while Pianca can go from Jim Hall impressionism to Larry Coryell electronic. Fresh material delivered quite imaginatively.

ECM Records

www.ecmrecords.com