Here the second of the three releases which Bad Dog Promotions sent to me recently. Following on from the excellent Erwean album, here’s Arnaud Quevedo and Friends, Live Quintet 2025.
The accompanying blurb sheet tells me that Arnaud is a multi-instrumentalist based in La Rochelle, France and that the album comprises of tracks from three previous albums and one unreleased rearranged for a reduced line-up of five musicians – hence quintet. It was recorded live earlier this year.
Now, what made me a bit hesitant about it was the blurb mentioning it’s jazz-fusion. Hmmmm. Not a genre I have any history with or fondness for, though I was encouraged to read that Arnaud’s influences include King Crimson and Gong.
With the jazz-fusion reference I couldn’t help but think of the Fast Show (remember that?) and John Thomson doing his “hello, and welcome to Jazz Club……great, really great” bit before introducing Jackson Jeffrey Jackson.
Anyway – I dived in with an open mind to give it a fair crack of the metaphorical whip. That first listen was an ordeal. To my jazz-ignorant ears it all sounded like a rambling, incoherent jam session with no structure.
I’ve given it a few more listens during which the performance and style has opened up to be a little making a bit more sense.
The musicianship is very good. Arnaud and his friends can certainly play their instruments adeptly.
Whilst I can’t say it converts me to wanting to get in to jazz, the Gong influences certainly shine through. That I did like.
Arnaud’s guitar is when he lets loose is reminiscent of Steve Hillage. Free flowing and trippy. The bass sounds very much like Mike Howlett, the Saxophone channels Didier Malherbe and the crisp, precise drumming will remind you of Pierre Moerlen.
Here’s Prologue:
I could hear plenty of passages that would have sat well on say Angel’s Egg, You or in the Moerlen-fronted version of Gong.
Those parts were pleasing to my ears although the remainder is not for me.
I have given this album that fair crack of the whip I mentioned above, however as well as Arnaud and his bandmates play and perform, jazz fusion is not my bag.
If you are in to that sort of stuff, you may well find it to your liking.
Available from Arnaud’s BandCamp page:
https://arnaudquevedo.bandcamp.com
I’ll be reviewing the third album Bad Dog Promotions sent to me shortly. The band is Homme. I’ve given that a couple of spins and it’s a good ‘un.
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