Kassap, Sylvain
Foehn
Sylvain Kassap is today recognised as one of the major players in jazz and improvised music. In 1987 he recorded Foehn, a solo album constructed around the possibilities provided by overdubbing techniques, sampling and computer-programming. Foehn received a "Choc" award from the review Le Monde de la Musique, and the album was enthusiastically received by the specialist-press, notably the monthly journal Jazz Hot, whose March 1988 issue gave it this review: "First there's that sound-carpet which recalls Renaissance bass-accompaniment, extra-modal music from outside Europe and also American repetitive music (Terry Riley, etc.) Based on the repetition-principle where the listener can hear subtle shifts in the music, the various instrument-families, after a moment, cease to stand out separately in the timbre, creating a spellbinding new sound. The warm winds of "Foehn" carry echoes of Eric Dolphy, John Gilmore, Sonny Rollins, Albert Ayler, Roland Kirk and Pharoah Sanders in this musical journey around the world. Alongside the Caribbean in Adelie, or Turkey in Taragot, The last drop, the last drop in the album, begins like a traditional Dominican piece before continuing over the accents of Word Of Mouth by Pastorius. So Long, Jaco. That, too, is jazz culture." Didier MOREL, JAZZ HOT