MOSAÏQUES

There are hundreds of unknown albums from musicians that maybe are not that recognized, or at least not as recognized as they would like or deserve, albums that came out of nowhere to add a personal flavor to the progressive rock realm. In the 80s, Joel Dugrenot who used to be known for his work with Zao, released three jazz oriented albums, being this one (Mosaiques) his last effort in 1989.

This is a relatively short album with only six songs and a total time of 33 minutes. The album features prog icons such as Pierre Moerlen, David Cross and Fred Frith. It opens with "Water Light", which starts with a soft flute sound, that seconds later is joined by drums and bass. There are also melodic synth effects and a tranquil atmosphere that turns really sweet just before minute four where the violin takes the main role. There are some nice tempo changes which make the song more interesting.

"Half Fish Half Bird" starts with drums and plays with some guitar noises, while seconds later nice jazzy bass lines and the violin appear. The rhythm is very constant; the drums do not make any sudden change, while the violins appear stronger from time to time. "Dans le Jardin" has some kind of spacey mood created by synthesizer and those electronic violins. A couple of minutes later drums, bass and guitar appear and build up an structure, the atmosphere, though, has still that spacey feeling that also gives the impression of calm and ecstasy at the same time.

"Pastel Space" has a soft piano sound, while there is again a spacey mood. The violin creates a powerful sound without being really loud. In moments, the ambient reminds me to some Brian Eno passages. Not a bad song. "Pegasus Dream" starts with some kind of rain sound, but later a great bass along with drums and violins start creating a Mahavishnu-like mood with a faster (not that faster actually) time. There are some good moments in this song, also some percussion that sounds very peculiar.

And the album finishes with "Sunrise Call" which is a very nice piece. Piano and synth effects that later will be joined by an exquisite flute and the bass. After this first passage, violins appear and interplay with the flute, creating a really beautiful atmosphere. This might be my favorite song of the album, too bad is the last one.

I like this album, its music is pretty good, catchy in moments but fully enjoyable, however, I do not consider this as a masterpiece, neither a huge recommendation, but just a good album that could have been better, and which is recommendable to those who like to explore the unknown sides of some musicians. My final grade is three stars.

Enjoy it!

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