French jazz/electronica trio After in Paris draw on the formidable resources of American sax master David Liebman and the Miles Davis-steeped Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu on this ambient soundtrack for an imaginary movie. There are quotes from sources including Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon and The War of the Worlds, with singer Claire Michael breathily intoning fragments of lyrics against her own overdubs, Liebman's muscular rhapsodising, and percussion grooves that sometimes have a drum'n'bass chatter, and sometimes a hard-swinging jazziness. Some episodes find Liebman's sound against keyboard tapestries reminiscent of In a Silent Way-era Wayne Shorter, and Fresu is sumptuously incisive over careering rhythms and inventive in overdub duets (his muted horn in dialogue with his open one). Liebman is superb over the bumpy swing of What Is a Lie? What Is the Truth? around Mary Astor's delivery of the same question from The Maltese Falcon. Fans of electronica, ambient and chillout music might be fascinated to discover this, but for jazzers it might all be a bit soft-core.
Contributor
John Fordham
John Fordham is the Guardian's main jazz critic. He has written several books on the subject, reported on it for publications including Time Out, Sounds, Wire and Word, and contributed to documentaries for radio and TV. He is a former editor of Time Out, City Limits and Jazz UK, and regularly contributes to BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3
John Fordham
The GuardianTramp
