Artist.......: Christine Jensen
Album........: Look Left
Label........: Effendi Records
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: FND062
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Mar-17-2007
str.date.....: Jul-18-2006
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.angelfire.com/jazz/cjensen
track title time
01. FUpper Fargo 08:05
02. Cedar 06:59
03. Capers Papers 06:58
04. Keeping Up Appearances 09:33
05. Promenade 06:35
06. A Tree Thing 04:57
07. Mark Adam Drum 05:47
08. For Tom Harrell 07:36
09. Look Left 05:47
Runtime 62:17 min
Size 80,3 MB
Release Notes:
La plupart des pieces de ce nouvel album de
Christine Jensen ont ete ecrites dans le contexte
propice a la creation qu'est Paris: vue sur la
Seine, rencontres stimulantes, distance avec
l'Amerique. Look Left exprime l'opposition a
l'invasion de l'Irak, A Tree Thing est un hommage a
Jimmy Giuffre et a Lee Konitz, Upper Fargo est
inspire par les oeuvres de Jonathan Franzen. Le
travail de Jensen s'inscrit en continuite avec
celui d'une mosaique de createurs actuels auxquels
elle n'hesite pas a rendre hommage. De Wayne
Shorter, elle retient l'architecture et le lyrisme
(Keeping Up Appearances), de Tom Harrell, l'art de
la melodie et du rythme. La saxophoniste a reuni
autour d'elle quatre musiciens avec qui elle
entretient un lien tres organique: Ken Bibace
(guitare), Fraser Hollins (contrebasse), Greg
Ritchie (batterie) et Dave Restivo, l'un des grands
pianistes de la scene torontoise. Denys Lelievre
While Christine Jensen remains one of Canada's best
kept secrets, she has garnered some international
attention since emerging on the scene in the
mid-1990s. Three of her compositions were featured
on the highly regarded Vernal Fields (Enja, 1994),
by her sister, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and sheÆs
had works for big band recorded and performed the
world over. Still, outside Canada she remains a
relatively unknown quantity in the grander scheme
of things, something that Look Left deserves to
rectify.
Jensen works in the new mainstream arena also
occupied by groups like the SFJazz Collective. Her
music is undeniably straightforward, and the
writing is slanted towards providing ample room for
her piano/guitar/bass/drums quintet to explore. But
JensenÆs music also incorporates shifting meters
and just the slightest hint of an outrΘ edge to
make this highly accessible set an exciting one
that relies as much on the collective strength of
the players as Jensen's substantive writing.
The majority of Look Left was composed in Paris,
where Jensen lived and studied for six months
courtesy of an Artist Studio grant, though it's
rarely reflected in the music. The opening track,
Upper Fargo, references the Midwestern sounds of
Pat Metheny and Dewey Redman, but its strong
groove, courtesy of bassist Fraser Hollins and
drummer Greg Ritchie, also has an assertive Latin
edge that's made crystal clear during pianist Dave
Restivo's vividly constructed solo.
Jensen's writing is innately lyrical. Her strong
themes often provide grist for vamp-based solo
sections that demonstrate just how well-oiled this
quintet is. The relaxed groove of Cedar refers to
the Vancouver Island town she grew up in, but could
just as easily be an homage to pianist Cedar
Walton. While she never gets raucous, Jensen's alto
solo creates an energy mirrored by Ritchie's
intuitive response. Restivo delivers another strong
solo that places Herbie Hancock-esque modernity
within easy-on-the-ears thematic development.
Guitarist Ken BibaceÆs warm-toned delivery mixes
Jim Hall's clarity and economy with occasional
bursts that never seem out of place.
Jensen's soprano playing rivals her capabilities as
an altoist and composer, making her a triple
threat. Capers Papers is a complex yet approachable
tune that shifts feels from a 9/4 modal vamp to a
swinging 6/8 theme. Jensen's at her best here,
building a solo from the ground floor up, gradually
increasing in power and fluidity.
Jensen's harmonic and rhythmic approach is
unequivocally contemporary, but she's patently
rooted in a conventional jazz aesthetic. Look Left
is a compelling set that will appeal to
traditionally minded listeners, but has enough fire
and angularity to appeal to those whose tastes run
farther afield. John Kelman