Nicolas Masson Quartet Travelers

After two ECM albums with the cooperative trio Third Reel, Swiss reedman Nicolas Masson presents a quartet on 'Travelers' for which he is the sole composer.

After two ECM albums with the cooperative trio Third Reel, Swiss reedman Nicolas Masson presents a quartet for which he is the sole composer. The group has existed for a decade with unchanged personnel, touring as Nicolas Massons Parallels, and the leaders writing for it always encourages creative responses from the players. Amid the changing musical landscapes in which these travelers move, you will encounter some of Colin Vallons prettiest ballad playing, richly melodic bass from Patrice Moret, and subtle drum commentary from Lionel Friedli. Plus, of course, plenty of Massons pure-toned saxophone and elegant clarinet. Travelers was recorded at Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano in April 2017, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Nicolas Masson's acquaintance with his fellow quartet travelers Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back roughly two decades - in this time the players have developed an intimate musical bond, expressed purely and beautifully on Renaissance, the group's second recording for ECM after 2018's Travelers. Comprised exclusively of originals by the Swiss saxophonist and one collective improvisation, the album's spotlight shifts between contrasting moods and shapes, capturing the venturesome leader stretching his compositional muscle in evocative interplay with his colleagues. The band is in a searching spirit on rubato exercises like the expressive "Tremolo" or the ambient "Tumbleweeds", mathematical on the more cerebral cuts like "Renaissance", but always operate with a lyrical disposition at heart, as heard elsewhere on the record and with a particularly gripping melodiousness on "Anemona".

Nicolas Masson's acquaintance with his fellow quartet travelers Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back roughly two decades - in this time the players have developed an intimate musical bond, expressed purely and beautifully on Renaissance, the group's second recording for ECM after 2018's Travelers. Comprised exclusively of originals by the Swiss saxophonist and one collective improvisation, the album's spotlight shifts between contrasting moods and shapes, capturing the venturesome leader stretching his compositional muscle in evocative interplay with his colleagues. The band is in a searching spirit on rubato exercises like the expressive "Tremolo" or the ambient "Tumbleweeds", mathematical on the more cerebral cuts like "Renaissance", but always operate with a lyrical disposition at heart, as heard elsewhere on the record and with a particularly gripping melodiousness on "Anemona".

Nicolas Masson's acquaintance with his fellow quartet travelers Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back roughly two decades - in this time the players have developed an intimate musical bond, expressed purely and beautifully on Renaissance, the group's second recording for ECM after 2018's Travelers.

Nicolas Masson's acquaintance with his fellow quartet travelers Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Lionel Friedli goes back roughly two decades - in this time the players have developed an intimate musical bond, expressed purely and beautifully on Renaissance, the group's second recording for ECM after 2018's Travelers.