Kartet - Bay Window (SACD)

Facts Kartet was formed in Paris in 1990 and this is their 5th CD, their first for Songlines. Their music is angular, tonally open, polyrhythmically swinging, polished, avant-garde but still very jazzy (a radical re-invention of Monk's "Misterioso" shows where their roots lie). The focus is on group interaction and improvisation, a sophisticated weave of textures and musical motifs. There's telepathic cohesion and a trancey, moonlit dream-logic to it all. Jazz for people who love 20th century classical music, it's also a sensuous deep listening experience with a unique combination of colors: Benoît Delbecq's prepared piano patterns mesh with Guillaume Orti's sinuous lines, Hubert Dupont's anchoring bass and Chander Sardjoe's complex timekeeping. 24 bit/48K recording mixed in analogue to stereo and 5.0.