Xavier Richardeau

A Caribbean Thing

Continuo Jazz

This may well be a first for this writer and our readers – music from the island of Guadeloupe.  Saxophonist and composer Xavier Richardeau earned his jazz stripes in Paris and in New York before moving to the island, where he has resided for the past six years. Richardeau, who plays soprano and baritone saxophone, leads a sextet comprised of tenorist Jocelyn Menard, pianist Leonardo Montana, guitarist Anthony Jambon, electric bassists Regis Therese, and drummer Yoann De Danier. Conspicuous by its absence, given the album title, is percussion. That alone indicates that the album is essentially a hybrid of Caribbean music but instead of an Afro-Cuban emphasis, it brings it French chanson (lyrically driven French songs, in this case without words).

The opening title track marks the first time that the leader has used a conventional bass-drum tandem. Tenorist Menard, originally from Quebec but a long-rime resident of the Caribbean, teams with Richardeau on soprano, as they harmonize in hymn-like fashion. One could easily envision a vocalist on this melody, with the rhythmic component making the tune especially infectious. “Sous le ciel de Paris” is one of three compositions that Richardeau did not write. It’s been given a tropical sheen and rather custom fitted into one of Guadeloupe’s original musical forms, the beguine. Again, the leader is on soprano weaving melodic lines above the percolating beat that shifts throughout, culminating in a reggae-like thumping pattern. Montana’s piano resembles a steel pan solo, and aside from the drumming, provides the most obvious tropical luster to the piece. We hear the baritone/tenor combination for the first time on “Linea Oceanica,” a gently flowing ballad, appropriate for one gazing out to that magical line where horizon meets the sea.

The buoyant “Broussa Samba” is a rearrangement of an older tune for this configuration and feel of this recording with the soprano and tenor blending almost like the conventional trumpet-tenor in the opening ensemble sequence. Energetic soprano and piano solos follow. “Lili” and “Avan Avan” each have short and long versions. Composed by singer Veronique Hermann Sambin, they are danceable, jubilant tunes that feature the sextet at their blissful best, whereas the long version of each begins with a Richardeau solo, on soprano and baritone respectively.

“Sonne Laverite” is a classy waltz where the soprano and tenor intertwine initially in a breezy, flowing way, that runs increasingly aggressive before yielding to pianist Montana for his inspired statements in his solo and the choruses. The undulating “Blue Sunlight” features crisp guitar notes and a lullaby-like melody from Richardeau on the baritone. When Jambon, the guitarist steps forward, his solo with its judicious use of space evokes the sparkling sunlight dancing on the waves. By contrast, “Waves and Wind” is a straight-ahead hard bopper with the baritone and tenor leading the way with most percussive comping by Montana.

Richardeau’s “A Caribbean Thing” evokes exactly the kind of music one associates with a sun splashed island. It may have you dreaming of a vacation, or at least the arrival of Spring.

• Jim Hynes

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