Atlantis Jazz Ensemble is a group led, among others, by Pierre Chrétien, who is also behind the Souljazz Orchestra. If you like the latter, you will surely love the former.
Atlantis aims to be more attached to a soul ecumenism, rather than focused on the funk branch like the Souljazz phalanx. Let’s say that Atlantis is to Souljazz Orchestra what Comfort Food is to Soul Food. A broader, more inclusive vision of all kinds of aesthetics. A bit Coltrane-like (in its humid explorations, like on Soultrane), a bit bossa, samba, very inclusively groovy, this Mystic Suite continues the momentum of Oceanic Suite (2016) and Celestial Suite (2023).
The three form a trilogy now complete on subjects as vast as the musical spirit is coherent. That said, differences emerge between the three albums, particularly between this one and the two previous ones. While Mystic displays a lively energy and a relatively populist character, Celestial and Oceanic are more studious, rooted in classic hard bop jazz. The colours and general feel of the music are presented as heirs to a lineage tracing back to the great albums of the late 60s, those of Miles, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, etc. More “true jazz,” let’s say.
Mystic Suite therefore seems to present itself as the “seductive” little brother of the two older siblings.
The result is that we love wandering around the city with this young one in our ears. Maybe Ottawa, the place where the band is mainly based, but certainly Montreal, where your humble chronicler pleasantly spends his days. Imagine yours, and that will do.
