Vienna’s Clarinetto Reeds has crafted a contemporary jazz album, led by the smooth and calming tones of the clarinet, designed to lighten the weight of the world and allow its audience to escape into the peacefulness of this moment for the best part of an hour.
Beginning with the impossibly joyful Touch My Hand, this collection seeks and succeeds in brightening up even the darkest of rooms. Clarinetto Reeds approaches performance and composition from a sheer love for music, and this shines beautifully throughout these recordings – rather than merely presenting melodies and structures, you can hear and indeed feel a level of soul in the playing, and this makes all the difference.
Best Time emerges with a slightly more retro vibe, an early-evening aura comes through – a sense of confidence and uplifting rhythm. The variation between tracks is pleasantly surprising, despite the instrumental theme there are numerous moods and flickers of creativity that light up the different stages of this project – meaning it never grows tiresome; on the contrary, it seems to become more enjoyable as it progresses. A hint of electric guitar really helps guide this piece along.
Petite Fleur leads with a seductive and familiar sound, deep bass tones contrast well with the lighter, passionate peaks of the leading instrument. Afterwards, the title track comes in with definite dashes of character and a certain full-band sentiment that works well at this point. There are detectable changes within the story-line as the soundscape progresses, helping create a somewhat theatrical quality.
Walking With You is a distinctly entrancing piece of music that again presents a slightly retro or vintage backdrop but succeeds nonetheless in creating a fresh and thoughtful ambiance – the sort that’s easy to relax into and let your mind wander freely within. Klarinetten Muckl follows and lightens the tone with another few minutes of absolute joyfulness and optimism. The quicker playing style adds further dynamic and presents a fairly recognizable melody that’s something of a highlight from the collection. A live performance from Clarinetto Reeds would likely be well worth experiencing.
At the penultimate moment, You brings back the the smooth seduction of jazz with a mellow rhythm and a smokey bar vibe. The further you get into it, the more you connect the dots and hear the togetherness and intimacy the journey expresses.
Blues 12 brings things to a brilliantly classic finish, a layer of horns and a crisp beat accompany one final burst of positivity and brightness from the clarinet. A quickly calming piece with a great groove – another highlight for that confidence and subtle swagger that fills the room. A strong way to finish what is a brilliantly creative and easily enjoyable collection of instrumental compositions. Clarinetto Reeds drives with a clear love for this music and this style of performance – the effect allows the project to fly much higher than a simple sheet-reading session of a similar style might. A pleasure to let play.
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