Tom Ollendorff and Fabrice Tarel Quartet: London Vibes - Suite For Freedom

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Fabrice Tarel (p)
Marc Michel (d)
Christophe Lincontang (b)
Tom Ollendorff (g)

Label:

Tetrakord

June/2024

Media Format:

CD, DL

RecordDate:

Rec. date not stated

Respect for Ollendorff grows across the scene, but it’s Tarel who takes the limelight with this suite of his compositions. A graduate of the ever-challenging Leeds College of Music, Tarel’s writing has a sense of detail and a sophisticated sense of harmony. And it’s all meticulously performed.

Tarel eschews song titles for part numbers, encouraging the sense that this is a classical, chamber-like composition, and to a degree the performances have a ‘concert’ like feel, a shade constrained, a shade studious. So, 'Part 1' is thoughtful but with a lyrical edge. 'Part 2' lets the corsets off a degree with a jagged riff, while 'Part 3' is a lilting romance with a shimmer of reverb in Ollendorff’s seductive guitar. Ollendorff has some of Pete Bernstein’s clean toned, Jim Hall vibe, but not quite so swinging, while there are resonances of Metheny in 'Part 4'. There’s more urgency in 'Part 6', but control is never lost. Which leaves you wondering whether with a little more risk and abandon there could yet have been more to enjoy.

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