Kate Wyatt – Murmurations

In some international publications, Kate Wyatt has been compared to Brad Mehldau, or Fred Hersch. This after the release of her first album, Artefact, in 2022. MY COMMENT, JUST AS POSITIVE, CAN BE READ HERE. That said, a second album is the difference between fleeting inspiration and lasting talent. Murmurations is proof that the Victoria, B.C. native belongs to the latter.

Murmurations is an album imbued with spirituality, philosophy, and poetry. We feel it in the finesse of the improvisations and the subtlety of the exchanges, but also by becoming aware of Wyatt’s sources of inspiration, who composed most of the pieces, with the exception of one by Vedady (“Music is Beautiful”), one by Hamel (“Bardo”), and a standard, “Mack the Knife.” Moreover, the title of the program and the second piece of the album, Murmurations, refers to the flight of birds in a group, which move like a single organism, the absolute confidence of the individual elements transcending the whole of the community to give something unspeakable and powerful. Nice parallel with the idea of a jazz group.

This ineffable telepathy of the most subtle gestures manifests itself in sighs, almost textural whispers, harmonic and melodic, which animate, withdraw, move and stretch at the whim of a remarkably natural spontaneity. Kate Wyatt is in symbiosis with bassist Adrian Vedady (also her life partner, which helps) and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums, and it’s like that throughout a generous program of more than 60 minutes and 11 tracks.

The cover of “Mack the Knife” goes against the usual expectations associated with this title. In the same spirit as the other pieces, Weill’s patter is finely distilled, sometimes “atonalized,” through the trio’s manner, from which delicate volutes emanate in the form of melodic and harmonic snippets extracted from the original piece. Certainly one of the most astonishing visions of this famous piece.

Murmurations is an album for true jazz lovers. Everyone else will of course find something to enjoy, but the added value of listening will be particularly appreciated by the most discerning.