In contemporary music, we’re often looking for new ways to make music. Sometimes this sounds forced, artificially “original”, avant-garde/experimental as a principle rather than a real inspiration. Other times, someone takes a simple principle, applies it sincerely and ends up creating music that’s pleasant to listen to without being too predictable. The Sixth Dimension by Toronto’s Doug Wilde (Manteca) falls into the second category, jazz-style, as Wilde leaves space for his partners to improvise. Wilde uses six-note scales (hexachords), a different one for each piece in the album, to create sonic panoramas whose elusive tonality remains pleasing to the ears, supple and mellow, thanks to the whole nature of the notes chosen, as if one were playing only with the white notes of the piano. Thus, despite the deviant aspect of the harmonic center, a Wilde piece conceals no real grating dissonance. The result is an impression of lightness and airy floating in the melodies, a characteristic also supported by the delicate, even impressionistic writing of the Canadian composer and keyboardist. With Wilde on keyboards, Colleen Allen on woodwinds, Henry Heillig and Paul Novotny on bass, Charlie Cooley on drums and James Ervin on trumpet, the quality of the music is equalled by the excellence of the playing. Wilde is no stranger to writing for the big and small screens, and the evocative quality of his scores is clear proof of this. Nothing absolutely stunning in terms of sonic novelty, but a very fine sensory and aesthetic voyage into an intriguing yet welcoming Sixth Dimension. Recommended.
