Fourth opus of the young lady of jazz piano, Can You Hear the Birds? by Gentiane Michaud-Gagnon (MG) seeks to more faithfully embody the energy of live performance. At least, that’s what the pianist reveals to us in the interview I conducted with her, which you can listen to below.
In her favorite classic trio format and generously supported by the intuitive Levi Dover on double bass and the excellent Mark Nelson on drums, Gentiane indeed displays a more expansive energy as well as an enhanced narrative flexibility compared to previous productions. Not that the latter lacked spontaneity or jazz temperament, but they feel (upon re-listening) calibrated by studio work. A certain desire to perfect the details to the last hair, like a carefully written score.
Can You Hear the Birds? succeeds in the challenge set by the artist and instinctively invites us to breathe, to relax, and to let the impulse of the moment nest and stimulate our imagination. An openness in the performance and the construction of the phrases, a gentleness in the interactions between the three artists, it seems to me, testify to a renewed confidence and a maturity taking hold. Less focused on controlling every detail, it seems that Gentiane has, by that very fact, opened the door to new expressive possibilities.
Beauty, intelligence, elegance, Can You Hear the Birds? is a publication of very high quality.
