The French have had a love affair with Miles Davis going back to his score for the 1957 film Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud. But French native and popular trumpeter-composer Eric Truffaz takes admiration to new levels on his U.S. debut, a compilation of tracks from his Blue Note France albums Out of a Dream, The Dawn, and Bending New Corners. Using familiar components of Miles's hotly debated 1970s sound (Agharta, Big Fun, On the Corner)--including muted trumpet, graceful figures, cerebral melodies, and atmospheric electric piano--Truffaz appears as a talented clone. But his music is redeemed by its very assimilation of Miles's style and elegance. Truffaz and his expressive quintet write evocative compositions rife with darkly gorgeous melodies, performed in a variety of contemporary styles. Quasi drum and bass fills "Bending New Corners" and "Betty"; whisper-funk imbues "The Dawn"; a springy groove straight from Sorcerer supports the elastic "Arroyo"; free-form noodling fills "Less"; and drum and bass noodling fills "More." Truffaz plays sumptuously on the eerie ballads "Wet in Paris" and "And." Many American acts sound flat and stiff when attempting this Milesian hipster style, but Truffaz and Co. pull it off with deft twirls. --Ken Micallef
Tracklist
01. Sweet Mercy (2:07)
02. Arroyo (6:26)03. More (6:10)
04. Less (3:55)
05. No Choice (7:09)
06. Mask (4:15)
07. Dawn (5:45)
08. Betty (4:14)
09. Bending New Corners (8:10)
10. Minaret (5:57)
11. And (10:13)
Mask
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