9 In Common - Au Revoir Paris

Smoothed

I think this is the second album/collaboration by French pair Alex Tassel and Yann LeBreuilly, and it is an electronic chillout-jazz collection which does precisely that: chills. Each track is a construction of samples and inserted recordings, often looped, and the musical cores are themselves electronic constructs working melodically through repeating themes across various synthesised instruments, vocal accompaniments and horn blasts [real trumpet solos, I think] respectively caressing or punctuating the casual rhythms. It reminds me very much of Courtney Pine’s Modern Day Jazz Stories, though this probably says as much about my narrow experience of this type of sampling/hip hop jazz as anything. Fourth track Actions & Reactions is the closest in style to this comparison with Pine, sans the sax. Much more hot cocoa than hot chillies, but soothing.