| Jazz |
Sometimes we receive albums that amuse us with their structure, as is the case here. “Evolution” is a new-age jazz album, soft and often approaching the realms of pop or folk, yet with a distinct character that makes this album unclassifiable. For my part, I see shortcuts to Monteverdi’s Madrigals, especially for those familiar with the version by the late Alfred Deller, playing with silences. Here, Andreas Schaerer could be considered a distant heir, influenced by the pop-rock of the 80s/60s, and so beyond the initial amusement of the discovery, we find ourselves immersed in a unique work in which the singer Andreas Schaerer is delightfully complemented by the delicacy of the guitarist Kalle Kalima.
Schaerer describes a working method much more familiar to the world of pop. Focusing on songs and lyrics, “Evolution” could be called a singer-songwriter project. “Both of us have been heading in this direction for a while now. Kalle has his work with ‘KUU!’, and for me, there’s been ‘Hildegard lernt fliegen’ for a few years now.” In fact, Schaerer is more of a ‘singer’ here than what we’re used to. His typical vocal escapades are still there – clicks and pops, beatboxing, layered polyphonic vocalizations, and even imitating wind instruments – but by his own standards, he has used them particularly sparingly here.
At its core, two great artists are brought together here, for whom the word ‘Art’ with a capital ‘A’ is the only creed. Therefore, it’s not surprising that they invited the bassist Tim Lefebvre to join them. Tim Lefebvre, whose playing, sometimes on the electric bass and sometimes on the double bass (with a beautiful solo introduction on “Piercing Love”), has been such a source of inspiration for Schaerer and Kalima. “We played with Tim for the first time at the big jubilee concert celebrating ACT’s 30th anniversary. The chemistry was so good that we decided to stay in touch. When I called him for ‘Evolution,’ he didn’t hesitate for a second,” Schaerer recalls. “It was really impressive to see how quickly he could emotionally connect with the music. It’s amazing to see how he grooves on a track like ‘SloMo’ and how we could get carried away on Kalle’s guitar track.
Again, this album is not for everyone. Purists seeking a strict jazz notion will be disappointed. Here, we’re in something else, an indefinable proposition. You have to let yourself be carried away by this high-level musical and vocal proposition, sit down, and listen patiently. You’ll come out of it feeling the same way you do after seeing a play because the offerings here are so rich that you leave tired but happy, saying, “I can’t wait to see these artists on stage.”
Is it an “Indispensable”? Yes, certainly, according to the editorial teams at Bayou Blue Radio and Parius Move, who always look passionately at these artists who create without fear of breaking the rules.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, October 14th 2023
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