Andrew Boudreau Quartet

Neon

Fresh Sound New Talent

Neon is the Nova Scotia-born, now Brooklyn-based pianist Andrew Boudreau’s debut as a leader. He is joined by Neta Raanan on tenor saxophone, Simon Willson on bass and Eviatar Slivnik on drums. These bandmates met in the Boston are when Raanan and Slivnik were Berklee students, and the leader and Wilson were at the nearby New England Conservatory of Music.  In fact, Boudreau and Willson have a trio product with drummer Vicente Hanson called Family Plan which debuted eponymously on the Endectomorph Music label.

Boudreau composed all pieces with a visual stance made aural, both in sense of place and sense of people. For example, he describes the spooky chords in the title track as “vertical sounds” heard on that as well as the other short piece “Welcome Oak,” both rendered as a trio without the tenor. “Neon” stands as an anti-theme to the longer, more narrative pieces which begin with “Mile Ex,” which features the warm tenor tones of Raanan amidst the rather unusual textures that he creates on the piano. This is an album of textures and dreamy soundscapes, ever unpredictable and filled with unexpected expressions and forms.  The tune is titled for Boudreau’s Montreal neighborhood which he saw transformed from desolate urban decay to gentrified status. “Ribbons” is relaxed and has a slight swing component not found in many of the other pieces.

Boudreau creates his textural effects totally on the acoustic piano, often doubling bass with the left hand and tenor with the right to set up his own solos and those of his bandmates. He calls “Maud Lewis,” named for the Nova Scotia visual artist folk hero, a “musical primary colors exploration.” “One Day,” a feature for Willson who takes the intro on double bass, also stems from a visual experience, inspired by a trip to New York’s Whitney Museum where Boudreau viewed the striking “Untitled (One Day This Kid…)” by the late David Wojnarowicz.  “Ghost Stories,” the longest track, running nine minutes, bears some funky qualities and hearkens to his youth and the campfire experiences on his native Cape Breton (a stunning peninsula where the mountains rise directly from the ocean). Yet, his description of the tune relates more to nature outings apparently near Boston – “Wide intervals running through one of those sifters you put dirt through looking for nice rocks at a little gorge tourist trap in New Hampshire as a child.” Slivnik excels on this one, keeping it steady for Boudreau’s and Raanan’s explorative solos, the latter of which adeptly utilizes the lower reaches of the tenor to great effect, before the quartet brings it to a rousing climax, highlighted by Sliknik’s frenzied trap work.

Boudreau’s music is complex and evocative, yet these young players demonstrate a versatility that belies their relative few years of experience. The deeply lyrical “The Water’s Cold” is inspired by the Atlantic Ocean and contains impressive mood setting tones from Raanan and emotive arco and pizzicato bass expressions from Willson while the leader paints a dreamy backdrop. Rustling energy returns in the intense, rhythmically complex “Hopscotch,” inspired byJulio Cortazar’s 196s novel Rayuela (‘hopscotch”), which Boudreau describes as “really circuitous and beautiful.” Close your eyes and visualize children playing the game. The music uncannily matches the image. Boudreau’s ability to shape visual imagery and shifting moods earmarks him as a composer to watch. Even within the 50 second closing piece, “Welcome Oak” he strikes a tone of elation, seeing the landmark that indicates he is almost home. Listeners, on the other hand, may be just as likely to hit “repeat” to take in another dose of this fascinating music.

• Jim Hynes

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