Search - Alain Caron :: Play

"Play" truly is worth the effort to get.

Todd Schmeltz | Oak Harbor, WA USA | 12/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Today's "world economy" notwithstanding, there are just very few places on the globe where an album of this caliber can be produced -- where towering talent like this can be found. Look at Caron's neck of the woods (Montreal area): Bryston high-end stereo, Classe stereo, even Mr. Caron's "F" Basses, built right in the area. (It's one of the nicest electric basses I've ever heard.)



Yes Caron and crew are aresome, but you know something? Their talent is not in my opinion the most salient feature of the recording; it is the stunning quality of the recording -- that lush soundstage brightly, warmly illuminated against a pitch-black backdrop. People in the Quebec area must really know sound! I repeat, you can't go just anywhere in the world and find this sort of thing!



Gorgeous recordings like this are just the ticket for one of those moist-eye, "wow, just now, everything really is perfect in the world" moments. (I make as much room in my life as possible for these types of things!) I can just melt into this album as though it were a steaming jacuzzi.



Sound and production mentioned, I can say that Caron is truly one of the top bassists in the world today. His ability to reach out and just nail a note on his fretless F bass is just uncanny. And the rest of the bandmembers -- wow. Just really world-class stuff, eh?



I would not, however, call it groundbreaking; modern fusion such as this has been on the scene since the 70s. It's not a sine qua non like "Kind of Blue". It's not avant garde, like Weather Report. But the brilliance with which they perform truly is remarkable. This album is the sort of chestnut that will enrich any jazz collection. I love Canadians because of things like this album."

Excellent bass

Todd Schmeltz | 09/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Never heard about this bass player before 1999, and honestly i felt shocked when i put the headphones and listen to songs like trouble and pac-man.The slap is great, so are the pianist and drummer. Actually i am not a jazz fan but this sort of music is always welcome to my ears.I fully recommend this cd to anyone who is looking for a good quality fussion jazz, and of course an excellent bass player from Canada."