Start with the instrumentation/players. It's Daniel on acoustic and electric bass, David French on tenor sax, Michael Davidson on vibraphone and Fabio Ragnelli on drums. When you think about it, you may realize that such an instrumentation is not as common as perhaps it might be. More importantly Fortin has chosen his mates wisely and given them music that gives life to who they are. Davidson is a complete vibist harmonically and line-wise; French plays a straightforwardly clear-toned tenor that gives us the compositional impact of the melody and comes up with nicely turned solos that follow the changes but not in any cliched way; Ragnelli plays often enough quietly but busily in a loosely swinging fashion that is filled with good percussive ideas.
This is foremost an expression of Daniel Fortin, his involved and often brilliant complexities, his nicely wrought tunes. If you listen just to the bass once through, you will appreciate the artistry there, because it is very present! He is something.
In the end everybody contributes with good playing. And the whole stands out as slightly cool but never vapid, always full of content.
That all makes this one stand out as a recording of definite merit!
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