Antoine Cara

Status Quo

Self-released

French-born drummer, composer, and producer Antoine Cara brings us ”Status Quo,” assembling a beyond A-list roster of world-renowned musicians. Make no mistake; this is high powered jazz fusion – sitting somewhere between the Brecker Brothers and the more rock driven sound of Tower of Power. To be more specific, Cara’s compositions blend hard-edged funk, Latin jazz fusion, melodic pop, and uptempo jazz. The drummer leads this high profile contingent of Randy Brecker (trumpet) and guitar greats Mike Stern, Oz Noy, and Nazim Kri. They are joined by Jerry Léonide (keyboards), Kevin Reveyrand (bass), Yvonnick Prene (harmonica), and saxophonists Yannick Soccal (tenor) and Gabriel Richards (alto and soprano). Both Stern and Brecker appear on three tracks each. There are also specific features for Noy, Leonide, Soccal, and Prene.

 Cara says, “I wanted to create energetic, feel-good music with horns, percussion, guitars, and keys. The incredible guest musicians brought these tracks to life with their unique phrasing and masterful soloing. The drums play a central role throughout, both within the ensemble and as a featured solo instrument, giving seven of the nine songs a rhythmic spotlight.” .

Cara says the title comes from the feeling of sometimes being stuck in a loop. The album represents a way of breaking out of that by trying something different. By that, he means that much of his work is in electronic music. Even here he used some of those techniques such as chopping micro-samples. For example, some of the horns come from samples that he used, transposed and time-stretched.  Cara studied classical percussion and later honed his craft at the American School of Modern Music in Paris and Manhattan School of Music in New York. He has toured with artists like Lulu Gainsbourg and achieved success as an electronic music producer, with songs amassing over 8 million Spotify stream. Yet, while the album is relentlessly blistering at almost every turn, it does take on a ‘sameness,’ so to these ears, Cara is still somewhat stuck in a loop of a different kind. Nonetheless, the energy is captivating.

Following Cara’s established groove, the horns blast in for throbbing opening, “Wrong Turn” which features bright keyboards form Leonide, the bass -drum tandem of Reveyrand and Cara holding it down as Brecker steps up next. The funky “Better Late Than Never” brims with brass and blaring guitars. Running beyond seven minutes, the repetitive groove wears a bit thin, but it does allow for creative Cara drum solo. Tenorist Soccal blows the roof off in the title track, another funky, high flying entry, propelled by the staccato horns, as Brecker gets his say as well as this one takes on some Latin strains too. Talented harmonicist Prene gets the spotlight on lyrical, dreamy, at times majestic “When We Were Young.”

Guitarist Noy steps out in rocking style on the funky “Take It Easy” while guitarist Kri offers a lyrical, melodic guitar approach on “Deja Vu,” one that also features bassist Reveyrand and Soccal, the latter getting even feistier on “Let’s Play” along with keyboardist Leonide, who shines again on the burning, runaway train of “Quidproquo,” a tune made to order for Brecker’s veteran jazz-funk technique. Album standout is the closer, “Nevermind,” which features an arresting duet between Stern and Prene, both digging deep into their respective blues bag.

Cara has clearly tapped into something here. While there’s plenty of repetition, especially in the horn charts, the energy never lags. These cats are hell bent on going full tilt throughout.

– Jim Hynes

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