From Far And Near

With the help the Ça balance programme in Liège, the quartet recorded a first release in 2014, “Where We Come From?” (on the Spookhuis label). A series of concerts and festivals in Belgium followed by a tour in China prompted the guitarist to pursue the adventure and write a new repertoire. 5 years later, Zola quartet is back with «From Far and Near», 8 compositions signed by Gonzalo Rodriguez.Although the leader’s Spanish roots sometimes shine through in these small miniatures, it is less by the inclusion of traditional sounds than by a certain musical luminance that makes the notes dance and illuminates the melodies.

The young sax player from Mons, Mathieu Robert, invests his soprano saxophone with beautiful and vibrant lyrical phrases. The hints of classical jazz culture evoke Fabrice Alleman or Wayne Shorter on his first recordings with Blue Note. As for the guitarist, his playing is fluent and agile based on a careful choice of chords that clearly are closer to the melodic approach of musicians such as Barney Kessell than the groovy jazz of a George Benson for example.

Galvanized by the particularly dynamic rhythm of bassist Nicola Lancerotti and drummer Didier Van Uytvanck, the two soloists run off sophisticated counterpoints or crystalline choruses that intersect like stories with their share of happiness, emotion and nostalgia. And although tracks such as “Aurora” and “El Olor Del Alba” invite us into a dream-like world in pastel tones that are as elegant as they are peaceful, others such as “Monte” and “Spicy Lentil” tend more towards an impressionistic world of bright, contrasting colours.