Plume "Holding On" feat. Greg Hutchinson

jazz&people presents Plume Holding On Plume strikes again ! The saxophonist continues his quest and presents his second album, recorded with one of the most renowned drummers in jazz: Gregory Hutchinson. Arriving suddenly without warning on the French jazz scene, the musician’s first album, "Escaping the Dark Side", was unanimously praised. His fervor, his commitment, his mystique was received with wide acclaim and also raised questions. Why hadn’t this intense saxophonist been heard before ? How had such a musician remained in the shadows for so long ? Plume is not a musician in a hurry ; he is simply determined. Determined to be heard at the level he feels it is his duty to be his own : the demands this jazz musician places as much on an instrumental level as on his capacity to express himself, through improvisation, through the precision of his musical approach. Plume is a musician who prefers not to play or record if he is not playing at his best level. He knows what he wants to express, he knows what he has to express. He also knows that the means to do it are not given to everyone and that it means being ready himself and also able to find the right partners with which to attain his goals. It is not easy, but it is at the heart of jazz’s creative process. Patient, Plume knew how to bide his time, but he was also faced with another difficulty. How do you find out where you belong when you cannot practice your art ? During Covid 19, all musicians were confronted with this dilemma. What do you do when all your daily efforts – to practice and to hone your craft and, to write new compositions, to enrich your repertoire by assimilating other works – are destined for public performance and that this is no longer possible ? All musicians will tell you the same thing : to play for yourself is not an end in itself. Jazz, in particulier, which draws its riches and its vitality from the exchanges and the stimulation between musicians through improvisation, found musicians feeling very alone. And online jams were no substitute for the excitement of being together. Holding on, then, finding reasons to stay motivated, despite the prevailing silence and the feeling that the world was empty of meaning. Plume, like all musicians, was confronted with this ordeal at a particularly crucial time, because he had just made a name for himself with the release of his first album, "Escaping the Dark Side". « Holding On » is the album of deliverance. It radiates an energy too long contained and restrained. It is inhabited by belief of a musician who, dedicated to his art, had been chafing for too long. But « Holding On » is also an album of confirmation. One that consolidates – as if it were necessary – that Plume’s reputation is no flash in the pan, that he is in it for the long run. That he has chosen to record his second album with one of the world’s most renowned drummers – Gregory Hutchinson – is supplementary proof of his talent and his capacity to to converse with the world’s leading musicians. Having first made a name for himself accompanying Ray Brown and Betty Carter, Gregory Hutchinson has become one of the great contemporary drummers. After playing with Roy Hargrove in the 1990’s, he was with the late Joe Henderson a long time, and with the singer Diane Reeves. He is saxophonist Joshua Redman’s drummer of choice, both in trio and quartet settings, which is no surprise since « Hutch » has the entire history of jazz in his drumsticks and a fiery temperament that puts him at the heart of the exchanges and the dynamics with a constant fervor and a total engagement. He has not overshadowed Plume, quite the opposite, striving to serve the music and to propel the saxophonist to new heights. Plume also chose for the album two muscians he has been playing with for a while, the pianist Leonardo Montana and the bassist Géraud Portal. The pianist is truly versatile, showing extensive stylistic eclecticism in the various projects he is involved in. But it is his interventions as a soloist and his capacity for staying on the edge in each of his solos that makes them constantly surprising. And Géraud Portal, an admirer of Charles Mingus, has proven over the years his solidness as a bassist, his consistency, his poise, his powerful, venerable sound; he is one of those authoritative musicians who – starting with Jacky Terrasson who has made him his regular bassist – set the foundation on which the music can unfold. His exemplary understanding with Gregory Hutchinson contributes to the success of the album that reveals the harmony of a group which is more than an collection of personalities and which demonstrates its coherency and its unity in the collective phases as in the solo moments. « Holding On » is an album of survival. An album full of rage and hope, a music of conviction and engagement, a beacon in an ocean of uncertainty and the dark times we live in. If the album Is guided by love and spiritualty in a new arrangement of John Coltrane’s Naima, « Holding On » takes the listener on a gripping journey that does not end until the final note, a whirlwind of strong emotions and deep humanity. From the first accents of Revenge of the Mute Swan whose urgency is accentuated by Gregory Hutchinson’s drumming, to Reverence, a spiraling ascension towards light and the plenitude of groove, the tensions and calls of the title composition and the mysterious voluptuousness of Oksana, « Holding On « vibrates throughout, inhabitated by impetus and a relentless commitment. The album ends with Ying & Yang, an alto duet played at breakneck speed in the great jazz tradition of chases, in which Plume spotlights the talents of his colleage Matt Chalk, a saxophonist from Kansas City who has recently settled in Paris and whose playing is full of ardour and presence. Proof that Plume is not alone and that he will continue to surprise us. Tracklisting : 01 - Naima 02 - Revenge of the Mute Swan 03 - Path of the Moon 04 - Oksana 05 - Holding On (Prelude) 06 - Holding On 07 - Faith in the Unmanifested 08 - Reverence 09 - Yin & Yang — featuring Matt Chalk All the compositions are Plume's, except the track 01 (John Coltrane). Personnel : Plume, alto saxophone Leonardo Montana, piano Géraud Portal, bass Gregory Hutchinson, drums + Special guest Matt Chalk, saxophone on the track 09. Recorded at Studio Sextan, Paris, by Vincent Mahey. Mixed et masterized by David Darlington, New York City. Photos by Eric Garault, except the group photo by Léonard Courtaux. Graphic design by Olivier Linden.