As the title suggests, this is the second album by this French jazz-rock unit based in Burgundy, although the very existence of a first album is somewhat sketchy. All of the elements required for greatness are here: five excellent players on drums, tenor sax, Fender Rhodes, electric bass, and guitars; a skillful composition set rich in melody and rhythmic sophistication that still allows for plenty of improvisation; musicians who know when and when not to play, and the blessing of influence from great ones who have traveled this road before them — among them Nucleus, later Soft Machine, Weather Report, and others. So what gives? Most of what we have on this disc is certainly excellent, if a bit generic at times, but that fire — the raw burning energy and passion that moves this sort of material out of the excellent category and over the top into the sphere of greatness is often hinted at, but only achieved in places. Too often the band finds a comfortable groove where instrumental perfection substitutes for the all-out mania that cuts loose from the shackles of flawlessness. Still, these guys come pretty close to the target, and that's good enough to warrant a listen or two. A lot of promise here.
Peter Thelen
JAZZ HOT (F)
Comp@cts on line supplément au n°635 Décembre 2006-Janvier 2007
Serge Dahan au Fender Rhodes et
François Canard (ts) sont les pivots de ce quintet de jazz cherchant
un peu sa voie au milieu des influences, africaines, sud-américaines,
européennes surtout.
Les mélodies sont exclusivement des compositions du batteur Xavier
Besnard. Elles sont toutes agréables à entendre, jamais racoleuses,
toujours harmonieuses, mais la totalité du CD laisse une impression
étrange, comme si l’on restait sur sa faim. L’éclectisme
dont fait preuve ce groupe est sans doute un avantage, car il permet de diversifier,
mais il le dessert, car l’auditeur n’a pas d’axe qui lui
donne des références. Un standard ou deux, revisités
à leur manière, auraient été les bienvenus sur
ce CD par ailleurs sympathique, honnête et sans esbroufe. Le sax ténor
de François Canard est à encourager, car son son est intéressant.
(Michel Bedin)
PROGRESSOR (UK)
December 4, 2006
Prolusion. The French band HIMALIA counts only three years of its existence, but they've already had time to release two CDs, namely "Depart Immediat" (2004) and "Himalia II". According to the ancient Greek mythology, Himalia is a nymph from the island of Rhodes who gave birth to three sons of Zeus.
Analysis. Originally a duo of Xavier Besnard (drums, keyboards) and saxophonist Francois Canard, on their second CD Himalia appears as a quintet, which is probably a perfect format to play the music the group had chosen from the very outset of their activity - Jazz-Fusion, generally speaking. The album never allows the listener to feel any doubt about the musician's 100-percent competence in all the minutest details of traditional Jazz, but at the same time - gradually, yet hauntingly - captivates him with a genuine jazz-rock energy. This remark remains pertinent even as regards the first two tunes, Ibarra and Noisette, although these don't seem to be quite gems of the genre, at least if they are viewed from a broad progressive perspective. Each contains numerous spectacular, at times youthfully bold solos from saxophonist Francois Canard and pianist Serge Dahan, delivered over excitingly complicated metrical figures on the part of drummer Xavier Besnard and bassist Valery Boulanger. But inasmuch as the main accent is on melody, and also due to the presence of a few recurrent themes, the music appears to be almost instantly accessible. Of course, the accessibility as such shouldn't be regarded as a flaw, but anyway, both tunes would have sounded more diverse and intriguing if there were more joint soloing maneuvers, whereas guitarist Bruno Paggi remains mostly in the shadow. The guys seem to feel comfortable within the style everywhere on the album, but here, on the first two tracks, they seem as if fearful to take any decisive step, say, to the right or the left of the set framework. All in all, I would define both as somewhat distilled Jazz-Fusion "in an elevated mood". Baie D' Along is the same story overall, but while the emotional background here is usually still affirmative, it manifests a lot of different shades within itself. Jazz for a mood - mood for a day, meaning it might be useful to be connected up to such accumulators of positive emotions as the said three cuts some time at the dawn of such a day. No irony! On most of the other pieces Himalia perform a more complex and, at the same time, hotter music with a certain vintage feeling, which exists due to the distinctively sounding electric piano (not sure whether it's Wurlitzer or Rhodes), as well as Bruno Paggi's passion for old models of guitar pedals. The alternation of softer, melodically pronounced, completely structured arrangements with those more intricate and dynamic is equally typical of Dans la Canopee, Spirit Rapper and Callisto, each representing an almost fully-fledged Jazz-Fusion, meaning from the standpoint of an experienced Prog lover. However, the former tune is the only track on the disc featuring a really intense and eclectic jam with turbulent improvisations (which are like honey to my soul). Whilst the latter stands out for its recurring guitar riff running all through each of the sections with dynamically developing events - think Soft Machine's "Bundles" and you will not miss. Spirit Rapper, with its passionate sax solos, is in places reminiscent of '80s Weather Report. All five of the musicians contribute equally to the sound of each of the said three, more often weaving their patterns independently from each other than engaging in unison and related movements. The dramatic Oland follows Callisto, sounding surprisingly contrasting and yet logically alike. This is the fourth and the last track in the list of the album's highlights. It's woven mostly of spaciously atmospheric, yet still very saturated textures, with the piano and guitar sharing the lead in most cases. The life-asserting Sur le Route de Quito, on which Bruno Paggi finally takes an acoustic guitar into his hands (to execute a long and very impressive Flamenco-stylized solo), has a strong Latin American flavor. The sax is back to the fore only on the last cut, Cap Sud, which is also an up-tempo jolly piece, but is closer to the band's original style.
Conclusion. Considering the content of "Himalia II" according to its statistically-average value, the result would be that this album is equidistant from classic vintage Jazz Rock and the style's current / modern standard, which is not to say the individuality of Himalia's music breaks any genre barriers. The outfit's second release could have easily hit the focus of a commercial success had it been released before the '90s, whilst nowadays this is music for quite a limited contingent of listeners. A very decent creation overall, although intellectuals might find it to be not sufficiently eventful to fully satisfy their rightfully heightened demands.
(VM)
PROGGNOSIS (USA)
Published on: 24 Jul 2006
Though only recently created, this
new French act, whose name is based on the Greek Mythology (or is it based
on the name of one of the gravitational planets of Jupiter?), plays a sort
of Jazz-Rock that completely breathes 70’s inspirations.
The music displayed in this album has mostly a base of melodic jazz driven
by the exceptional bass lines and guitar myriads, upon which François
Canard Saxophone shines on.
Though creating a specific and individual sound, the reminiscences from their
inspiring muses seems obvious to me: Soft Machine, some of the Gong incarnations
and especially (most noticeable) Weather Report.
The sonic voyage that Himalia proposes is simple: easy-listening jazz-rock,
totally instrumental, especially directed to those who enjoy Sax virtuoso
playing and jazzy guitar. The entire atmosphere created has to do with Jazz,
but with a slight rock feel attached to it. All players have their change
to shine a bit, though it is the Sax that makes the most of the expenses.
A good, total enjoyable album for fusion lovers who like melodic, yet virtuoso, albums.
(Nuno)
VALEDICTORY (F)
Himalia est un quintet de jazz français constitué d'une section rythmique, d'un saxophone, d'une guitare et d'un piano électrique Fender Rhodes. Le fait de préciser la fameuse marque de claviers a son importance, tellement elle est symbolique des années 70. Car c'est bien de cela dont il s'agit : Cet album, le second de cette formation, n'est, ni plus ni moins qu'un vibrant hommage au bon vieux jazz rock des 70's. En particulier, le jazz rock calibré de la fin de cette fameuse décennie, celui qui, par exemple, a causé la perte de Soft Machine. Ici, la guitare et le saxo sont en parfaite symbiose et sont soutenus par un Fender Rhodes et une rythmique impeccables. Les nostalgiques de cette forme musicale seront de toute évidence aux anges. Cet album révèle le talent incontestable de chaque musicien. Tout coule de source de façon évidente, sans aucune rupture ni aucune difficulté d'écoute. D'ailleurs, on frise l'erreur d'aiguillage de la part de Musea qui a failli oublier que Koid'9 était un fanzine de rock et de progressif. Mais, finalement, c'est plutôt reposant d'écouter ce genre de disque, d'autant que la musique n'est nullement ennuyeuse.
(P.R)
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