TROMBE déluge - PRESS / CHRONIQUES

NOISENOTMUSIC

noisenotmusic.com/2023/06/26/review-trombe-deluge-stnt-jun-21/

Trombe’s 2019 self-titled debut LP kicked off the Nantes unit’s ongoing two-piece experiment with a short and sweet exercise in minimal brut-jazz, with percussionist Erwan Cornic rattling chains and trinkets just as often as he plays full drum set and Thomas Beaudelin yanking the sax valves like root vegetables. But even though the duo has garnered praise from devout skronk stalwarts like Mats Gustafsson, their particular style has always had a distinct, almost delicate melodicism at its heart, and that’s only become more apparent with this brand new CD Déluge. Take “Flopée” for example, a lengthy track that opens with some of Trombe’s most straightforward free music tumble yet and ends with a serenade so sublime one has to do a double take, with the road between the two points being a relentlessly abstract and unpredictable one. “Foultitude” might be even better, and in spirit approaches the sound of Ayler/Corsano duo I’ve only heard in my dreams. This is the project’s most diverse and best release yet, and I hope its both inspired and singular approach is an indicator of a new direction in improvised music. I disagree with Takeo Suetomi’s statement that Trombe and others have “become more sophisticated and less jazz-like in their energy”; on one hand it just sounds a lot like AMMrogance (aRowegance?), and on the other, to my ears this stuff is jazzy as all hell. Jack Davidson.

trombe deluge stnt chronique / press

FREEJAZZ COLLECTIVE

https://www.freejazzblog.org/2023/09/sax-drums.html

"Trombe" is the duo of Thomas Beaudelin on sax and Erwan Cornic on drums. On their sophomore album "Cheval Rodéo" they give all the titles of their energetic and raw interaction topics related to rodeo: "Bareback and saddle bronco", "Tie-down roping ", "Bull-riding", "Rescue Race" and "Barrel race". They demonstrate their skills in evocating the taming of wildness, and the high risk ferocity of the 'game', even if some tracks, such as "Terrassement du Bouvillon" are surprisingly intimate and gentle. Both musicians take their art seriously, but clearly not themselves.

Thomas Beaudelin is classically trained (and a builder of wind instruments), but his playing here is everything except classical. Erwan Cornic has been a drummer for several decades, and even if his number of albums is limited, his drumming is excellent, both rhythmically and in timbral explorations.

Their third album, "Déluge" takes their art a step further in the same vein: high power play, but smart, with both musicians delivering ear candy technically while at the same time offering a lot of improvisational variation within each track, offering excellent ciaroscuros between dark and violent moments alternated with more intimate sensitive passages.

I did not know both artists, but they're more than worth to be discovered. Both albums also have print copies: the former on 200 copies, the latter on 100, but they're luckily also available digitally.

Sept 2023 By Stef Gijssels