The magnetic French-African drummer Manu Katché’s music – an amalgam of subtle world-grooves, glimpses of 1960s Blue Note jazz-funk, Scando-ambience and Miles Davis postbop – can sound cooler and more reserved than might be expected from a long-time rock player with jazz affections. But this warm, engaging and melodic album, recorded at the New Morning club in Paris, catches the sense of power-in-reserve that makes Katché’s live shows irresistible, while maintaining his lissom elegance. The whispers of Tord Gustavsen saxist Tore Brunborg turn to drily dynamic, Joe Lovano-like urgency on uptempo stretches; trumpeter Luca Aquino’s lines curl with quiet seductiveness, but they, too, cut loose in squeals; and UK keyboardist Jim Watson plays as much fleet acoustic-piano swing as churning Hammond-organ funk. The themes embrace simply sketched ballads, quietly strutty soul-anthems glinting with Katché’s delicate bell-sounds and slinky grooves. Anyone who heard the quartet play last year will want this chronicle of a rapturously received night’s work.
