Perhaps it’s best to begin with the similarities between John Coltrane and J.S Bach. Sure the classical and jazz worlds rarely seem to intersect, yet both artists come from a tradition of improvisation, both were composers and also instrumentalists and both created incredibly dynamic music of astounding emotional power. They were also both spiritually aware, utilising music as a conduit to express and experience their spiritual beliefs, and it’s this link that French saxophonist and bandleader, Raphael Imbert attempts to illuminate via this collection. With a history in jazz, it was a shared love of improvisation that bought him Andre Rossi, an organist and teacher of baroque improvisation together. Most of the Bach pieces are performed by the Manfred Quartet and gradually evolve into mannered improvisations led by Imbert’s sax, usually slowly moving into more recognisable jazz formations. It’s these moments of fusion, the handover, where the classical and the improvised jazz intersect that are truly astounding as equal weight is given to both styles. There’s high drama, Rossi’s frenetic organ work giving rise to Bach’s complexities, giving form to a much subtler platform of improvisation, whilst Coltrane’s dark and lyrical Crescent is given three tracks for the ensemble to take apart and becomes shrieking blustering counterpoint to the mannered Baroque musings of Bach.
Bob Baker Fish
*
