Alain Razafinohatra / Arnaud Razafy / Georges Rahoerson / Serge Rahoerson / Joel Rakotomamonjy / Roland de Comarmond / Jef Gilson / Jean-Charles Capon / Alain Rahoerson / Pierre Moret / Jojo

Jef Gilson/Malagasy

At Newport Paris

Souffle Continue: FFL068

A strange but compelling sidebar to the musical life of Jef Gilson (1926-2012), these discs preserve experiments when the French keyboardist was attempting to fuse his advanced Jazz with pop-ethnic sounds from Madagascar-based musicians. Having already made the transition from a form of Bop to a Gallic variation of Free Jazz, Gilson’s fascination with the music and advanced musicianship of players in the former French colony led to the formation of the ensembles heard here.

Recorded in the late-1960s/early-1970s in Tananarive and Paris, the rhythmic, sometimes chant-like selections integrate Malagasy musical instruments such as bamboo-bodied valiha or tube zither and flute-like sodina with Western ones. Since these are sonic not anthropological experiments however the programs aren’t ethnically pure. Already influenced by Jazz and Funk, besides the expected multiple percussion, the Malagasy musicians play woodwinds, electric guitars and basses. For his part, Gilson uses electric piano more than the acoustic one. Additionally all appear to be influenced by the Afro-centric, Spiritual Jazz chants then popular among American Jazzers. In fact A Madagascar includes version of “The Creator Has a Masterplan”. Tambourine shakes, cymbal slaps and valiha strokes give the rendition more of an African feel, while an electric bass pulse intensified the Funk. However screaming altissimo and flutter tongued multiphonics plus rabid reed bites and doits from Arnaud Razafy’s bass clarinet and Roland de Comarmond’s alto saxophone situate the interpretation within that improvised music tranche.

Strangely enough it’s the saxophones of Georges Rahoerson (soprano), Alain Razafinohatra (alto) and Serge Rahoerson and Joel Rakotomamonjy (tenors) that are on the other Madagascar selections. The harmonies are more Funk Brothers than Four Brothers with almost all the tunes foot tappers. Wood marimba clanks and thumb piano stabs producer a Malagasy variant of the Jazz Messengers on the bottom end, helped by Gilson’s electric piano comping with a Blues tinge. But among this kinetic motion, singular snarls and doubled vamps reed vocabulary is defining post-Coltrane. Those selections dedicated to local instruments aren’t folkloric either. Razafy’s guitar part on “Sodina” for example adds intricate bottleneck fills to the melody.

As different as Madagascar is to France, At Newport Paris reproduces an appearance at that local club featuring Gilson’s electric piano and early synthesizer, four multi-instrumentalists in the rhythm section and tenorist Del Rabenja the only saxophonist. Except for the rhythmic flourishes, the set probably wasn’t much different than what was played in other Paris clubs. Especially with electric bass thumb pops, shaking guitar-like riffs and electric piano interjections and overlay as well as percussion shuffles the emphasis is on exotic styled Soul Jazz. Still there are vocal chants in Malagasy on “Valiha Del”, where drum breaks and simple piano runs interrupt the exposition of the flute-like instrument matched with plucks from the African zither. More generic are tracks such as “Buddah’s Vision” where Rabenja’s tones are harder and freer than elsewhere and especially “Requiem Pour Django” and “Dizzy”. The latter has a frenetic pulse with the saxophonist seemingly shoving as many notes into his solo as he can, but at points melody leans towards anonymous film music. “Requiem Pour Django” sounds like a contrafact of “Round Midnight” and is a rare example of how the French-Malagasy combo treats a ballad. Mellow and moving it advances to a certain point with a broken octave electric piano and saxophone connection until Rabenja breaks into a surge of FreeBop textures and split tones. Eventually bass stropping reasserts the tonal connection and like all of the tunes on both discs the head is logically recapped. These are engaging glimpses into how one Gallic improviser tried to stretch music’s parameters a little further. The discs are more notable as they confirm how experimental currents of so-called African Jazz have steadily weakened since that time.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Madagascar: 1. A Tana 2. Avaradoha 3. Chant Inca 4. Sodina* 5. The Creator Has a Masterplan# 6. Malagasy^

Personnel: Madagascar: Arnaud Razafy (bass clarinet#, guitar*); Georges Rahoerson (soprano saxophone); Alain Razafinohatra (alto saxophone); Serge Rahoerson [drums*], Joel Rakotomamonjy (tenor saxophones); Roland de Comarmond (alto#, baritone saxophones, sodina*); Jef Gilson (piano, xylo Malagasy, percussion*6 electric piano ^); Jean-Charles Capon (electric bass, percussion*); Sam (electric bass)#; Alain Rahoerson (drums, (Malgache percussion#^); Serge Rahoerson* (drums); Pierre Moret (Malagasy percussion^); Jojo (Malgache percussion#)

Track Listing: Newport: 1. Newport Bounce 2. Salegy Jef$# 3. Solo Frank 4. Buddah’s Vision 5. Veloma Lava 6. Valiha Del*$# 7. Requiem Pour Django 8. Dizzy 48 9. 1973$

Personnel: Newport: Del Rabenja (tenor saxophone, valiha*); Jef Gilson (electric piano, endoline$); Sylvain Marc (guitar, electric bass, drums, percussion); Gérard Rakotoarivony (electric bass); Frank Raholison (drums); Ange “Zizi” Japhet (percussion, electric bass#)