Fran Detela wrote : « Syntropy is a negative entropy which at the same time represents the capacity of nature to spontaneously self-organise itself without damage to the environment to an ever greater degree of internal organisation and complexity".
An organic group, pure, instinctive and reactive music, that's what I had in mind before setting up this new quartet. Contrary to my usual practice, I didn't want any pre-established arrangements, but simple themes and structures, so as to let the four elements of this group interact in complete freedom.
One day I had a vision in which I was air, Nicola was water, Nicolas was earth and Dré was fire.
The story behind this recording is astonishing. It happened on a Sunday. We met at 10am at the Jet studio in Brussels. The set-up was the opposite of current trends: we placed ourselves very close together, without separations, and above all without headphones, forcing us to listen attentively and concentrate.
We adjusted the sound fairly quickly so that we could quickly start recording the first takes.
The pizzas were quickly ordered and comfortably eaten. We took the time to talk about a few things before resuming.
All the tracks on this album were recorded between 2.30pm and 5pm, at which point we stopped the session, even though the studio was booked until 7pm.
We didn't resort to editing, and mistakes were kept as they were (listen to Dré's drumsticks fall to the floor during the exchanges between the band and the drums on Blizz!)
The first track, Fly, Fly, Rockets, was inspired by the up-tempo be-bop tunes of the day, but with a few harmonic twists. This is followed by a cover of one of the most beautiful ballads: Billie Preston's You Are So Beautiful, made popular by British singer Joe Cocker. Blizz next is a medium swing tune, also with a particular harmonic modulation, although the form is only eight bars long. Then comes Ipseity, opening with an impressionistic introduction by Nicola Andrioli. The rhythm section then moves into a solid slow tempo to welcome the flute. We emerge from the dream with the energetic Too Cool For School: a sort of Scofield/Eddie Harris boogaloo. Norma is a tribute to the shaman Norma Panduro Navarro, known for her icaro songs dictated by the ayahuasca (the Amazonian liana used to alter consciousness during ceremonies). Stéphane had fun using two of these chants and harmonising them to preserve the unity of Syntropy. The album ends with Major Changes. This title has a double meaning: it refers both to the drastic changes that take place in one's life, and also to the multiple major chords around which the composition was built.
Here, then, is a jazz that is both modern and ancient, a return to the simplicity and honesty of what this music is supposed to represent: a sincere entity generated by four individuals who are at once separate yet united, imbued with a communicative freedom.
- Released : 15/11/2023
- Recorded : 20-03-2022
- Reference : SBR003
- Support : digital
- Label : Step By Records
- Studio : Jet Studio
