Mssr_Renard
A peculiar band and a wondeful album. The Quebecois progressive rock-scene spawned some excellent jazzrock-bands in the mid- and late seventies like Maneige, Harmonium, L'Orchestre Sympathique etc. (too numerous to mention).
One of these bands is Solstice wich is quartet featuring drums, electric bass, guitar and clarinet, wich is unique. I know no other band in this format.
The music itself is farely straight-forward, almost comparable to Soft Machine, Bruford, Nucleus etc., but the sound is wonderful. It sounds light, warm and kind of cozy. Some great soloiing by all members. No heavy jazzrock-fusion like Return to Forever but more post-boppisch jazzrock, like Nucleus.
This band and this album in particular blend the acoustic sounds of the clarinet and drums with the electric (amplified) sounds of the electric bass and electric guitar without sounding overblown or chaotic.
A real gem and a nice addition to a jazz-rock-collection for people who like jazzrock a bit more subdued and easy-going. Also a great listen for those who like clarinet as a lead-intrument.