ARLANE RACICOT

DANSER AVEC LE FEU

Independent label

Arlane Racicot, piano/composer; Antoine Rochefort, electric bass; Guillaume Picard, drums.

This Montreal, Canada pianist was the winner of the 2022-2023 Revelation Radio-Canada prize for jazz.  This album is bound to win even more accolades for Ariane Racicot.

The title of her album translates to ‘Dancing With Fire.’   She continues to push her musical concepts further with this album.  It explores a fusion of European classical music mixed with jazz, fusion, Latin, metal and soft rock.  She blends her acoustic piano with the electric bass of Antoine Rochefort and the power-packed drumming of Guillaume Picard.  Her first album was recorded with these same musicians and their comfort level with each other is extraordinary.  Ariane Racicot continues to explore the textural possibilities of combining her unique fusion jazz and classical piano, evident through her original compositions and arrangements that are peaceful one moment and volatile with energy the next.

Racicot opens with “Avant la Tempête” that translates to “Before the Storm.”  It’s a beautiful song, easy listening with strong classical influences.  When Picard lays down a funk drum groove, her fingers dance above the energy in a classically, melodic way on piano.  When the drums kick in, I can almost picture a sunny park afternoon, turning gray and cloudy before my eyes, with the wind whipping up.  Racicot’s music is quite dramatic. It paints pictures with sounds.  I find great comfort and peace while listening to this first lovely tune.

“In addition to listening to jazz, I am also a part-time metalhead.  I got hooked at the beginning of high school when I first heard Judas Priest, “System of a Down and Slipknot.”  I am definitely inspired by the metal bands I listen to regularly, including Behemoth, Amon Amarth, Satyricon and Nargaroth (which are mainly black metal).  We can see this influence in some of the sound textures (the use of the piano’s low register, the pedal effects of the electric bass, the rock cymbals of the drums),” Ariane Racicot explains the blend of genres you will hear in her music.

These concepts are very evident in the title tune, “Dancing With Fire” where Guillaume Picard is full of drama on his drum set.  Racicot is exciting on her piano, while still maintaining a lovely relationship to melody and boldly in touch with her classical training.  I also hear the metal influence throughout this arrangement.  Antoine Rochefort adds his steady electric bass line, holding the piece in place, strong as a wood clamp. Racicot tugs at our attention with her tempo changes and mood swings.

“The piece “There is Some Hope” was composed while I was disabled in my left hand for several months following a fall.  I wanted to express …the power of resilience, but also the hope of being able to emerge from our environmental decline.  Brad Meldhau and Tord Bustavsen are two jazz pianists that I have listened to more in the last two years.  They inspire me a lot in their rhythm and piano playing (the independence of the hands, the attack on the notes) … which is a new way of playing for me,” Ariane describes some of her newer techniques on the 88-keys.

The bass brilliance of Antoine Rochefort is spotlighted during the composition “There is Some Hope.”

Here is an album plush with emotion, drama, beauty and bluster.  The combination of genres keeps the listener interested, while the wonderful talents of these three musicians bring our ears great reward.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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