In June 2022, the “ power quartet » Void Patrol — Colin Stetson on saxophones, veteran Elliott Sharp on guitars, Billy Martin on drums and leader Payton MacDonald on marimba and xylophone — launched its first album of “jazz dronecore funk metal”. A year later, at the Victoriaville International Music Festival, the quartet’s sound seemed surprisingly soft, as evidenced by the captivating recording of this May 20 concert. Metal ? Not really, although Sharp raises torrents of distortion. Jazz? In his great bursts of improvisation, in Stetson’s feverish playing on Canis Major in the opening, sometimes in that of Martin (on Atik, notably). Minimalist, above all, due firstly to the presence of MacDonald’s instruments, harmonious and rhythmic, which seem to encourage Stetson to blow the infinite arpeggios which have made his reputation. This performance also contains precious moments of introspection, noisy or not, nourishing in any case.
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