Grimal / Konitz / Peacock / Motian

Owls Talk

Label: Hote Marge Country: France

"What a delight for the young French saxophonist to be the leader of a quartet with Lee Konitz on alto sax, Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums. In contrast to her relatively wild previous album "Shape", or her more adventurous albums with "You Had Me At Hello", the playing here is quite accessible, but without being mainstream: without actual soloing, the two saxes are engaged in a continuous free dialogue of action and reaction, assent and dissent, with bass and drums feeling equally comfortable in the open musical environment. The music is extremely lyrical, very rhythmic, but without patterns or themes.

The sound quality of the recording is superb, easily illustrated by Peacock's bass on "Petit Matin", which is absolutely stunning in its sensitive subtlety, equalled by Grimaldi's soaring soprano.

Some of the more composed pieces have a more post-boppish character, and the album would have had more unity without them. That notwithstanding, and without really being adventurous, the album is a delight of intimate musical joy and interplay."-Stef@FreejazzStef