Daniel Humair has been on the scene so long I have become guilty of taking him for granted. That I shouldn't was brought home full-force when I listened to his new album Sweet & Sour (Laborie LJ19).
Daniel of course prevails on the drums, ever the subtle colorist, man of steel, skin and wood. He fields an excellent quartet for the date: Jerome Regard on contrabass, Emile Parisien on saxophones, and Vincent Peirani on accordion.
The accordion gives the band a distinctive flair. Peirani plays it with a harmonic and melodic freedom and intelligent soul that's pretty remarkable to hear. This is one schooled cat! Parisien has a good interactive sense and sounds very strong on soprano and tenor. Regard has fine musical instincts and gets the bottom end moving while working especially well with Humair. And Daniel is a firebrand with brains.
The compositional material is ambitious, filled with substance and rhythmic complexities. They are mostly collective creations. There's also one by Jane Ira Bloom, one by a Thomas Newman, and a pair each by Parisien and Peirani.
This is a sleeper of an album. It will be easy to overlook in the shuffle of continual releases and demands for your ear-time. But it is an excellent go. You should not miss it.
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