| Jazz |
Here is an album reserved for those with a deep cultural understanding, as the musical proposal is rich and laden with meaning. To fully grasp the approach of this artist on this project, it is essential to delve into the details… Caroline Davis pays tribute to her late grandmother, Joan ‘Lady’ Anson-Weber, in *Portals, Volume 2: Returning.* Losing a loved one is a universal experience, but the grieving process is deeply personal. Saxophonist and composer Caroline Davis found a way to connect with her departed loved ones by studying their past lives, aligning with their visions, and composing music to breathe life back into their spirits. *Portals* has been Davis’s project since 2019, following the sudden death of her father, opening a door to connect with the spirit world. The music of *Portals, Volume 1: Mourning* was a creative attempt a few weeks after this abrupt loss. *Portals, Volume 2: Returning* is dedicated to her grandmother, Joan ‘Lady’ Anson-Weber, a British poet (1927-2010) who directly inspired her artistic lifestyle.
Of course, we respect the statements of the composer, for whom they are the starting point of this work. However, beyond the complexity of the compositions, there is also the notion of journeys, for her current quintet, which includes diverse voices from the contemporary jazz community: Marquis Hill (trumpet), Julian Shore (piano), Chris Tordini (double bass), and Allan Mednard (drums). She invited several artists, including flutist Nicole Mitchell, whom Caroline met in Chicago and later worked with as a mentor through the CMA Performance Plus Grant. Other guests participated to honor Lady’s poetry through spoken and sung voices: Jen Shyu, Nappy Nina, Julia Easterlin, and Alexa Barchini. With these expansive musicians, the groups gathered at Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, New York, under the direction of sound engineer Aaron Nevezie, to create the nuanced drum sounds Caroline sought for this musical project.
Managing to convey themes through both instruments and added life sounds, Caroline Davis is likely offering us postcards from her inner world, filled with as much joy as sorrow, with as much life as loss. It is also a reflection on her place in this world, within a family, and an access to a partial form of memory, as human memory so perfectly knows how to restore. ‘My understanding of portals is that they are always evolving, transitioning, growing, so this seems to be a project that will continue throughout my years of performance and composition. Recording albums for people I knew in this world is a deeply emotional process,’ commented Davis.
One may or may not agree with the form of the creative process; personally, I refuse to judge it. Each artist has their own drive and unique way of creating, which can take any path. What matters in the end is the result: does it live up to the artist’s expectations? I remember in the early 1980s, a meeting in a grand hotel in Paris with Salvador Dali. At that time, art was selling like hotcakes. We discussed this, and then the conversation shifted to the trendy painters of the time, only for him, through his elegant mustache and while staring into my eyes, to say, ‘Art, it’s me! Dali, the one and only!’ I smiled at him, he smiled back, and we understood each other. Caroline Davis could say the same: ‘Art, it’s me!’ She has the talent, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all. All this to say that this work, which once again addresses true culture enthusiasts, jazz lovers perhaps, but not only them—if you love art for art’s sake, this is a perfect illustration of it. Yes, this is indeed a new ‘Essential.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 19th 2024
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