El camino de los vientos

The album’s title, translating as The Way of the Winds, refers to the many musical traditions Matthieu Saglio’s music has absorbed. A jazz pulse informs many of the album’s tracks, and classical influences, reflecting the French-born cellist’s formal training in Rennes, surface in the baroque “Las Cathédrales”, the album’s final piece. Saglio has lived in Valencia since 2002, and has absorbed that city’s vibrant cultural mix. The result is a richly flavoured musical stew, downbeat in tone, and spiced by a gentle, but compelling rhythmic drive. North African laments and Andalusian blues are prominent ingredients and tango is a distinct strand. 

The album opens with the contrasting moods, Arabic scales and exemplary musicianship of “L’appel du Muezzin”. The composition begins as a mournful cello extemporisation over a sustained multi-tracked drone then cuts suddenly to the percussion-fuelled bounce of a village dance. “Bolero Triste” comes next, belying its title with the flavours of French chanson. Here Saglio supports Vincent Peirani’s accordion with gentle plucks and strums and both solo lyrically. As the album continues, compositions mix traditions and change direction as though cued from within. Thus, the cellist introduces “Metit” with syncopated jazz, but the body of the piece is a showcase for the Senegalese-born singer Abdoulaye N’Diaye. “Amanecer” delivers broody Nils Petter Molvaer trumpet, “Caravelle” the sting of Nguyên Lê’s guitar and both feature plangent jazz-inflected cello and lilting 5/4 support. The cellist can soar into the upper register with the dexterity and sonic register of a violin, and when actual violinist Léo Ullman combines with Saglio on “El Abrazo” and “Sur le Chemin”, their phrasing is so close it is hard to tell them apart. Indeed, Saglio’s vibrant tone, touch and technique stand out on every track, but, impressively, never at the expense of his guests. [Mike Hobart - ft.com]

Matthieu Saglio • El Camino De Los Vientos • ACT • 2020