BILL CARROTHERS, VINCENT COURTOIS, "FIREBIRDS" (CD)

Bill Carrothers, Vincent Courtois, "Firebirds" - CD izdevums, ECM Records.

Gerard de Haro, from la Buissonne recording studio, had long cherished the idea of bringing together 2 musicians he had often welcomed and directed as they had so often awakened in him a feeling of ‘ Wonder’  but who had never played together. So he gave the impetus to the meeting between Vincent Courtois and Bill Carrothers and this could not have taken place without the confidence these musicians have given to the sound engineer for such a long time.

“If the idea had not been his I don’t think I would have responded favourably“ Vinvent Courtois confesses. A few minutes after the meeting in la Buissonne studio, which had been meticulously prepared for them, Courtois and Carrothers launch into both a lively and melancholic improvisation that will give the album its title. During a day high in emotion, the duo, joined by baritone saxophonist Eric Seva, alternates between original compositions, jazz standards (“Deep Night”, “ Isfahan”) and a Joni Mitchell classic (“Circle Game”) and the whole is framed by two mirrored interpretations of “Agua & Vinho” from the Brazilian Eberto Gismonti.

The result is a “music of fulgurance and quest“, according to De Haro. A subtle and natural interlude which will undoubtedly become a milestone in Carrothers’ and Courtois’s respective discographies.