Jeremy Gignoux – Odd Stillness
Jeremy Gignoux; Various Artists
Independent n/a (jeremygignoux.bandcamp.com)
When listening to such bebop progenitors as Bud Powell and, most of all, Charlie Parker, an identifiable sense of forward motion is conveyed musically. The French musicologist and critic André Hodeir, commenting on this propulsive quality and how the music from this era seemed to push listeners towards frequent moments of climatic resolution, described it as jazz’s “vital drive.” This virtuosic sound, often characterized as teleological (goal directed) and synchronous with the ideas of American Modernism, set a high-water mark for excellence in music (regardless of genre) influencing much that came after it.
As the Calgary-based violinist Jeremy Gignoux explores on his fine 2024 recording Odd Stillness, there are other equally important modalities in music that include tranquility, harmonic stillness and an auditory acceptance of dissonance without resolution that can be equally engaging, musically compelling and ultimately satisfying for listeners. As the French-born bandleader and musical creative writes in the album’s liner notes, “Looking away from harmonic progression and instrumental virtuosity, this recording embraces stagnation, inviting the listener to contemplate the serenity or tension within the moment.”
It is, I suppose, an experiment of sorts to release a recording designed around the aesthetic of musical lethargy and inactivity, but in the capable hands of Gignoux and a terrific ensemble that includes the unorthodox instrumentation of bass flute, contrabass, trombone, trumpet, drums, voice and bass clarinet, this hauntingly beautiful music nudges listeners towards a highly personal relationship with a sound canvas that eschews as many genre labels as it does descriptive adjectives.
