AKA MOON — Invisible Moon (review)

AKA MOON — Invisible Moon album cover Album · 2001 · Eclectic Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Sean Trane
Third stage of the Invisible series, Invisible Moon boasts the now-usual quartet plus the now-usual friends guesting on different tracks. As you might guess, this album is a bit the answer to their Invisible Sun album. This album (their twelfth if I'm not mistaken, and still on Guy Seghers' label Carbon 7) is one of their better one in recent years and comes with one of their more interesting packages with an intriguing booklet. It is made of three recording sessions (on Cassol's initiative, ranging from 97 to 2000 and mixed two years later. Indeed the groups had taken a bit too much of India's culture as most of their newer albums were indulging a bit too systematically in that realm. Not that you won't find any Indian influences in this album, far from it, but Aka does return to their first love, a mix of straight jazz and some jazz-rock, that made their early legend. By now Fiorini's keyboards are fully integrated in the band's sound and in this album's case, it even starts the opening Worlds Of Possible that immediately reminds you of their earlier days even if the track is loaded with Arabian ambiances from Cassol's sax and Chandra's violin plus Gilmore's guitars provide growling replies. But the album climaxes a first time with the awesome 9-min Brothers And Games, where the group clearly alludes to the great Trane's world while Hatzi's bass is clearly taking a Zeuhl twist (somewhere between Magma and Present), but Cassol is the star of the show, even Fiorini is giving him a run for it, much like Tyner always pushed Trane further. You will also hear some definite King Crimson in the lengthy Dragon, which shows the Trane world slowly moving before fully delving into with an Indian percussion interlude House Of Shiva.

The album does a sudden volte-face with the modern with Three, a sung (by David Lynx) contemporary cool jazz, bordering dissonant at times. Another climax is the other "epic" The Wedding, played with the same Indian section as on Dragon, but climaxing on the amazing second third of the track, where Hatzi and Gallant groove with Fiorini's complicity over Cassol's awesome improvs. Wow! I'm sure Vander is listening.

An excellent return to form from one of Belgium's leading formation for adventuring music, but I must say that its material coming from three session is enhancing and hampering the album's success. Fortunately the former than the latter.
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

6 Eclectic Fusion
KROKOFANT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Spring In Stockholm Live At Konserthuset, 1959 Cool Jazz
GERRY MULLIGAN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple vol.3 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple, Vol.1 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikołaj Trzaska / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple Vol.2 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

FASCINATING RHYTHM - The Amazing Keystone Big Band feat. Neima Naouri
THE AMAZING KEYSTONE BIG BAND
snobb· 1 day ago
Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Rhoda Scott Ladies and Gentlemen - special guest : David Linx
RHODA SCOTT
snobb· 1 day 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