Yannick Delez broadens his palette

Established in Berlin over the last ten years, Yannick Delez has found partners capable not only of following him in his stylistic exploration, but also of enriching it with new colors and motifs. Choosing strings instead of winds and dispensing with the rhythm section is no surprise from Yannick Delez, whose music is mostly in pastel tones, more ballad than groove, and deeply rooted in classical music, although he claims not to do so consciously.

The string quartet of the Yannick Delez String Quintet is thus made up of rare gems, versatile and at ease in all genres, capable of executing every notation with precision, but also of improvising with verve, each of them bringing his or her own personal touch and receiving in return the space to enhance it. Particularly noteworthy are Rodrigo Bauzá's excellent jazz violin and Susanne Paul's seductive, decently hoarse cello, which at all times slips into the skin of the double bass.

With this ensemble, Yannick Delez avoids the pitfall of superficial collage and presents a true synthesis, clearly centered on cool jazz, but expanding it with impressionism, Scriabin-like romanticism and minimalism; in places, he is even said to have an affinity with Anton Webern (Birth of A Sylph) and Georgy Ligeti (Slandia). In each piece, we sense the maturity of the artist who has assimilated or recreated styles, like so many colors, distinct but related to each other.

Although each piece in the collection deserves a mention for its originality, the following are particularly noteworthy Clärchen Ballhaus, beginning with an ostinato and then developing an elaborate form with several returns on itself, on the other hand La Javanaisea surprising tribute to Serge Gainsbourg, which takes the minimalism of the original and turns it into a kaleidoscope, but ends, like Gainsbourg, in nostalgic silence.

Yannick Delez String Quintet: Hanging Gardens. Claves Jazz 3058