Oli Astral: From the Astral
Oli Astral
Attend an Oli Astral show and you'll likely see all kinds of gear on stage beyond the electric guitar, double bass, and drums played by Olivier Grenier-Bédard (aka Oli Astral), Frédéric Alarie, and William Régnier, respectively. Yet while laptop, MIDI controllers, and Frederic's Modular Synthesizers are used to expand on its sound, the Montreal-based trio's playing is still solidly rooted in the improvising tradition of jazz. Now in his early thirties, Grenier-Bédard brings a solid amount of experience to the project. He's studied with Mike Moreno, enjoyed a masterclass with John Abercrombie, and has won a number of awards, including the International Montreal Jazz Festival scholarship in Jazz Guitar in both 2012 and 2013.
Similar kinds of digital processing gear were used to augment the material on From the Astral, Grenier-Bédard's first album as a leader, with textures, loops, and overdubs. Such technologies are an enhancement to but not substitute for music that treats melody and compositional form as primary. In that regard, his melodic material shares certain properties with Pat Metheny's, and further to that the guitar playing of Grenier-Bédard is as bright and clear as his well-known counterpart. It would be a mistake, however, to brand him a Metheny clone; it would be more accurate to say that any fan of Pat's music will probably hear much to like about Olivier's too. In both cases, openness to new sounds and directions never comes before a focus on melodic composition.
Grenier-Bédard might have had The Beatles on while writing “From the Astral,” given how much echoes of “Blackbird” seem to colour the track's melodies, but it's no less appealing as a result. With synthetic sparkle as a backdrop, the trio digs into its tight jazz-funk groove with enthusiasm, the leader brightening the performance with call-and-response phrases and his partners powering the performance with fluid, responsive interactions. At eight minutes, the piece offers the group ample room to maneuver, and the solo by Grenier-Bédard speaks highly of his abilities as an axe-wielder.
The infectious “L'envol” rolls in like the coolest of breezes, with the electric lead melody sweetened with acoustic guitar textures and an overall warm atmosphere. Grenier-Bédard delivers a smooth electric solo too, and the muscular accompaniment doesn't hurt either. While a number of tracks are high-energy, a few are at a softer pitch. Reminiscent of “L'envol,” “From the Heart” uses acoustic guitar to support the leader's electric expressions; here, however, the music is ballad-styled, the feel relaxed, the execution delicate, and the tone contemplative.
Jazz is the general area the trio operates within, but other flavours seep into the album too. “Avec Plaisir,” for instance, works hip-hop and funk into its groove, and throughout the recording, Alarie and Régnier excel at making complex patterns feel natural. The drummer's considerable chops are also memorably displayed in a solo spot in “From the Deep.” As much as it can be deemed one, the only knock against the release has nothing to do with content and performances but rather duration. At thirty-five minutes, another track easily could have been added to push it past the forty mark, which even then would have made it modest by CD standards. There's always something to be said, however, for leaving the listener wanting more rather than trying patience with a bloated presentation.December 2021