Alain Bédard Auguste Quartet – Particules sonores

The knowledge and experience of decades of combined musical playing, it’s something you can hear. Like this band. Alain Bédard and his Auguste Quartet have changed configuration and membership over the years, except for Alain himself, an irremovable pillar on double bass. Mario Allard on sax and Michel Lambert have played with him on a few occasions, and up-and-comer Marie Fatima Rudolf appears for the first time, but shows no sign of being intimidated by the stature of her colleagues.

Particles sonores is a solid opus, in the tradition of modern, learned jazz rooted in determined rhythmic willfulness and chromatic harmonies, very post-bop. There is nothing but good to be said for this discursively complex yet accessible album for those who enjoy listening to music. Perhaps not the aesthetic and emotional shock of previous outings like  Homo pugnax or Bluesy lunedi, but excellent musical construction that aims for and achieves, as always, the summit of a perfectly mastered art.