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MANU KATCHÉ Touchstone For Manu ECM 379 3906

1. Song For Her

2. Number One

3. Take Off And Land

4. So Groovy

5. Morning Joy

6. Keep On Trippin'

7. Senses

8. Swing Piece

9. Running After Years

10. Slowing The Tides

Bliss

Manu Katché - Drums

Mathias Eick - Trumpet (tracks 1, 4, 5)

Tomasz Stanko - Trumpet (tracks 2, 3)

Nils Petter Molvær - Trumpet, loops (tracks 9 - 11)

Jan Garbarek - Tenor sax (tracks 2, 3)

Trygve Seim - Tenor sax (tracks 1, 4, 5)

Tore Brunborg - Saxophones (tracks 6 - 11)

Jacob Young - Guitar (track 6)

Marcin Wasilewski - Piano (tracks 1 - 5)

Jason Rebello - Piano (tracks 6 - 8)

Jim Watson - Piano, Hammond B3 organ (tracks 9 - 11)

Slawomir Kurkiewicz - Double bass (tracks 1 - 5)

Pino Palladino - Bass (tracks 6 - 8)

Manu Katché is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian origin. He has straddled musical genres during his career having made his mark in pop, rock and world music as well as in jazz. This disc draws on four earlier successful albums he has made for ECM, recorded between the years 2004 and 2012. Apart from the quality of his compositions and arrangements, he has surrounded himself on all those albums with musicians of exceptional individual quality who also combine wonderfully well. Katché's drumming is discreet, tidy and without blemish, being crisp and driving where necessary, but always relaxed.

Jan Garbarek features on tenor sax in a couple of the early numbers, taken from the Neighbourhood album, and shares in a particularly joyous piece, Take Off And Land. He is not the only saxophone star on hand, however, since the excellent Tore Brunborg can be heard on the last half-dozen tracks, including the accessible Keep On Trippin'. This should not diminish appreciation of Trygve Seim whose interplay with trumpeter Mathias Eick is such a bonus on Song For Her and So Groovy. One of my favourite pianists, Marcin Wasilewski, is conspicuously effective on the first five tracks, running the gamut from pensive to downright funky. Yet when English pianist Jason Rebello plays on later tracks, he too distinguishes himself and subsequently, Jim Watson provides plenty to enjoy on both piano and Hammond B3 organ. There is so much to relish here – Nils Petter Molvær's lyrical trumpet, for example, and, briefly, Jacob Young's guitar (on Keep On Trippin')

I guess that what I'm trying to convey is the interchangeable quality and all round calibre of the musicians on this disc. It's a celebration of European jazz talent at its finest and a masterclass in tight ensemble work. A touchstone, I'm told, is a criterion by which judgements are made. Touchstone For Manu sets a high standard for the rest.

James Poore

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