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Jean-Christophe Beney
Jean-Christophe Beney: Polychromy
by Michael P. Gladstone
Following up his 1998 debut album, Tenor Joke, with a 2002 release, Cassiopee, French tenor saxophonist Jean-Christophe Beney now provides a new effort on the Canadian Effendi label.
Beney's formidable bebop styling is notable for its fluency and attention to lyricism. Unlike many other new" players, his playing doesn't employ jagged or fragmentary lines and his solos maintain a sense of melody. A comparison with the mid-1950s recordings of Stan Getz or Sonny Rollins would not be inappropriate. ...
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by Paul Olson
French tenorist Jean-Christophe Béney plays with invention, verve and deep confidence on Polychromy, his first release since 2002's Cassiopée. Béney's got a penchant for long, measure-spanning phrases of considerable complexity--not unlike Chris Potter, and there's some Lovano in his tone and style as well. He's also a songwriter of real quality and it is the strength of his material that gives Béney's playing much of its heft and impact. Stylistically, there is nothing terribly new here: it's swinging, small-group post-bop ...
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by Jerry D'Souza
Jazz from outside the U.S.A. can bring in unexpected pleasures. Cassiopée offers unusual color and a marked departure from the usual parameters. This quartet of French musicians turns expectation into high satisfaction with their selection of tunes, all but one of which are originals.
They start off with the medium tempo swing of Darn That Dream." The subtle permutations in register that Béney introduces get down to hardier terrain as he dips deeper in to the groove along the way. ...
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