Amina Figarova – Above the Clouds – Munich Records BMCD 503, 64:41 ****1/2:
(Amina Figarova – piano; Bart Platteau – flutes; Ernie Hammes – trumpet; Nico Schepers – trumpet; Kurt van Herck – tenor sax; Jeroen Vierdag – bass; Chris “Buckshot” Strik – drums; Tineke Postma – alto sax; Louk Boudestein – trombone)
Leader Figarova has been steadily carving out a substantial niche in modernistic Euro-jazz. Above the Clouds, her eighth disc as leader, is arguably her most accomplished. What immediately strikes the listener is the attractive soundscape the group effortlessly produces—at once airy and substantial, melodic yet harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated. Music like this purveyed by lesser artists often comes off stilted and academic: challenging, but unattractive. Not so here.
A distinctive feature is Bart Platteau’s lead voice on a variety of flutes, an instrument not always effectively employed in jazz. Platteau has an admirably weighty tone combined with startling dexterity, lending the proceedings both substance and agility. The compositions, all by Figarova, unfailingly interesting, occasionally rise to unexpected heights (“Bedtime Story,” the Monkish “Sharp Corners,” the dreamy fantasy-ballad, “Above the Clouds,” the elegiac “River of Mountains,” and the instant-classic, “Reminiscing”).
Above the Clouds is that rare jazz disc that combines ravishing beauty with true vigor. Certainly worth a listen or three.
Tracklist:
“‘A’ Dance
Ernie’s Song
Above the Clouds
Sharp Corners
Bedtime Stories
Nico’s Dream
Summer Rain
Sailing Through the Icy Waters
River of Mountains (Muhheakunnuk)
Blue Wonder
Chicago Split
Reminiscing
– Jan P. Dennis
