He plays with many jazz musicians, but Jean-Marc Hébert does not define himself as a jazzman. He has been to Skalène and Ragleela, has accompanied flautist Catherine Potter and Lilison Di Kinara (with whom he is still playing Saturday at the Francos), showing himself to be as comfortable in the Eastern and African musical worlds as in the West. His playing on Terre rouge, the fourth piece from his album L’origine explodee, also at times subtly recalls West Africa in the way he has of shelling the notes or constructing his melodic lines.
On this third album as a leader, the guitarist has surrounded himself with drummer Pierre Tanguay, a longtime accomplice, bassist Morgan Moore and trumpeter Lex French, to whom he leaves plenty of space. It is above all the latter that gives jazz colors to Jean-Marc Hébert’s compositions, even if the overall approach often evokes Scandinavian jazz by being more focused on atmospheres than virtuosity or harmonic deconstructions.
However, the alignment of the labels is not enough to express the poetry of these compositions, which are sometimes soothing (La détée), sometimes almost epic (L’espérance). These four musicians are clearly riding on the same magic carpet: rather than competing against each other, they join hands, scale and pass the baton to paint sonic landscapes of great sensitivity, tinged not with esotericism, but with something spiritual.
Jean-Marc Hébert and his musicians will highlight the release of L’origine exploded at Dièse Onze on June 15 and 16. Performances are scheduled at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each of these evenings. The album is offered on Bandcamp: https://jean-marchebert.bandcamp.com/album/lorigine-clat-e
