SOPHIA DOMANCICH — Courtepointe Live at the Sunside (with Mark Helias, Andrew Cyrille) (review)

SOPHIA DOMANCICH — Courtepointe Live at the Sunside (with Mark Helias, Andrew Cyrille) album cover Live album · 2012 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
French pianist Sophia Domancich is best known for her twenty-years of collaboration with the leading bands and solo artists of the Canterbury scene, including Pip Pyle, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper,etc,etc. Her solo works are less known, especially outside of France, which is a shame - she is a classically-trained pianist with a series of really interesting albums, coming from more than two decades.

Her live album "Courtepointe", recorded in Paris' Sunside club, is not her first album of such origin: three years earlier she released similar acoustic trio work, recorded live in Sunside as well (with the extraordinary rhythm section of drummer Hamid Drake and bassist William Parker).

"Courtepointe" is an acoustic trio album as well, with Hamid Drake again, this time paired with bassist Mark Helias. Once tagged as a "better writer than improviser", Sophia finds great balance of both components on this album. Her chamber sensibilities with a touch of French romanticism are perfectly balanced by the freewheeling and groovy American rhythm section.

This gig doesn't sound as much like a hot-wired free-jazz American club night, it's more of an elegant and even stylish French one. Her trio plays exclusively originals, coming proportionally from each member, combining tuneful slightly melancholic Sophia's almost-chamber songs with more full-blooded groovy and quite free compositions coming from Drake and Helias. Probably this album's main value comes from how well balanced this live show sounds. Each musician uses his strong sides and gets support from her/his colleagues, as a result all the music isn't chaotic at all, but lively, well-rounded modern cosmopolitan jazz.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Sonic Creed Volume II : Life Signs World Fusion
STEFON HARRIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
My Ship Hard Bop
WILLIE JONES III
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ice Breaking Post-Fusion Contemporary
DAG ARNESEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin : Brasil Latin Jazz
LEE RITENOUR
Buy this album from MMA partners
From The North - Gogo Penguin Live In Manchester Nu Jazz
GOGO PENGUIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

03 Willie Jones III My Ship #NightIsAlive
WILLIE JONES III
snobb· 17 hours ago
Fall
SUNNY KIM
js· 1 day ago
Twilight
RANDY SCOTT
js· 2 days ago
Trifecta - Beck and Call - official video (taken from The New Normal)
TRIFECTA
js· 3 days ago
Phoenix
GRÉGORY PRIVAT
js· 3 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed