Bassist Drew Gress, drummer Phil Haynes and pianist Steve Rudolph show impressive teamwork on these ten originals. Rudolph’s touch gives hint to Bill Evans, particularly on the impressionistic and dreamy “Zebra”, sifting through Haynes’ brushes on “Last Lullaby” and weaving around Gress’ bass on “Wedding Waltz”. The team bops well on “Let Fly” and gets artsy on the prismatic “Spell” while meditative reflections glisten during “Vesper”. Cool and classy.
Emie Rioux-Roussel plays piano, clavier and keyboard, sometimes all three in the same song with drummer Dominic Cloutier and Nicolas Bedard on acoustic and electric basses. Many of the tunes come across as the gentler side of Weather Report with Roussel’s keyboards wafting on “Maltagliati” and the dark lurking “Taniata”. Bedard lays out a nice electric solo on the elastic “Loners” and the team prances on “Agent Orange”. Intricate piano and drums make for active listening on the title track and “Empreinte” and there is a rich mix of solos sewn in seamlessly to the themes. Clever colors.