NICOLAS FERRON TRIO

MULTIVERSE

Dièse Onze Records

Nicolas Ferron, guitar; Jonathan Cayer, B3 organ; Louis Vincent Hamel, drums.

“Multiverse” is a debut album for the Nicolas Ferron Trio.  Ferron is impressive on guitar, and he has composed every composition on this project.  The first song is the title tune, “Multiverse.”  It showcases the excellence of Jonathan Cayer on B3 organ. The thing that bothers me, right out the gate, is the drummer.  Sometimes I just want to hear the two and the four in jazz.  I just want the groove to be present, to inspire my toes to tap or my fingers to snap.  Although Louis-Vincent Hamel takes an expansive solo towards the end of this tune, showing me, he is technically skilled, he never lays down a solid drum line for this well-written song during the arrangement. I keep asking myself, where is the groove?

This trio combines the psychedelic rock of the late 1960s with experimental jazz.  “Valencia” is a ballad with pretty chord changes.  The organist begins a melodic exploration until the spotlight swivel’s to Ferron’s guitar, highlighting his composition skills.  They use a lot of reverb during this arrangement, that creates a multitude of overtones on the guitar, perhaps a throw-back to the psychedelic era.

A song called “Shiitake” celebrates the Japanese or Chinese mushroom so popular to chef’s around the world. Once again, the music is steeped in rock music-drums, but no contemporary groove.

On “Complot” Ferron references a strong influence from the music of Ornette Coleman. The press package says that the B3 organ is reminiscent of Pink Floyd music. Midway through this arrangement of “Complot,” the tempos change with a heavy, organ, bass presence and then a double-time feel that supports the guitar solo.  When the B3 organ soaks up the spotlight, it takes the song to the next level with power and excitement. Towards the fade of the song, the trio calms, like a sunrise after a stormy night.

A tune titled “Mithridate” meanders on the scene, like the background music of a cowboy film with a single horse and rider walking down a dusty road.  Ferron’s original song called “Muffin au son” is more rock and roll and less jazz. Once again, tempo changes are used in the arrangement to tickle the listener’s attention.

They close with an original song called “Un Peu Confus” that translates from French to mean “A Little Confused.”  I must admit, I felt a little bit confused after listening to this music.  I would not call it jazz, because there is not one trace of ‘swing’ or ‘blues,’ and blues is a predominant root of jazz. Many guitar players proudly flash their blues roots when recording, on at least one song, and ‘the blues’ is also an important root for Rock music. I would say this is more experimental music, with Rock and Punk Rock roots, infused with wild improvisation.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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