Francisco Pais Quintet: Not Afraid of Color

“Not Afraid of Color” is an apt title for this CD and one that seems to mirror the musical sensibilities of its leader and those involved. Reflecting on the dynamics and communicative essentials that make for an effective group dynamic, the Francisco Pais Quintet embark on a journey of sound, melody, improvisation and color that takes them from the cymbal crashes and overdriven Fender Rhodes sound of “Water From The Moon” to the soft tones of “Tides” and pretty much everything in between.

The Francisco Pais Quintet makes use of color as a means to a musical end. Not only relying on particular instrumental shadings such as the Fender Rhodes, Soprano sax, and at times overdriven guitar, but also the harmonic palette that evolves from the varied personalities of those involved. “Transfiguration” is a prime example of this as each member brings their own voice to the tune culminating in a five way dialogue of simultaneous improvisation where everyone is heard but no one gets in the way of the other, making for an engaging reverberation of tonal form.

Then on the other side of the spectrum you have the composition “Lift Your Head”, a sensitive and sparse tune revolving around two open sounding chords with a nice floating melody line colored by Chris Cheek’s melodious soprano playing, Leo Genovese’s warm Rhodes sound, Massimo Biolacti’s dark bass timbre, Ferenc Nemeth’s rolling drums, and Francisco Pais’s round tone. Actually, Pais seems to play more guitar on this tune than on any of the other tunes, playing some very nice lines that tend to shy away from the guitaristic instead focusing more on the melodic content of the tune as he thoughtfully locates the right notes for what he has to say.

In fact, it is this emphasis on achieving a group sound rather than having the leader showcase his guitar talents that make this project so enjoyable. And although Francisco Pais can really play up a storm, which is evident during the quick shred of sax and guitar at the beginning of “Water From the Moon” or the drums and overdriven guitar section of “Always Dreaming”, he tends to lay back allowing the group dynamic and voices of each player to take over, playing just what is needed without reference to ego or guitaristic alchemy. Definitely the kind of player you want on your team. The last tune on the CD, “Charmed’ is a good example of Pais’s unselfishness as he gives the tune over to the other players, especially pianist Genovese who gets to cut loose in a solo section that showcases his modern harmonic approach and superb playing. Great stuff!

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty of guitar to keep the listener happy, especially in the tunes “Melody for Damien”, the 70’s ish fusion sounding “Water From the Moon”, the energetic “Transfiguration” and “Tides”. His playing style sounds like he’s definitely coming out of the Metheny - Abercrombie school of playing where the focus is more on modal statements rather than “old-school” lines and patterns and where the guitar tone is slightly processed. So for anyone interested in that lineage Francisco Pais would definitely be someone to check out. And he’s also a solid accompanist laying down some cool chordal play on “Gratitude” and other tunes, allowing saxophonist Chris Cheek and the rest of the players to create foregrounds of improvisational appeal. They are all really wonderful players and bring so much to the project which makes this CD an enjoyable listen.

I would have no problem recommending this CD to anyone who enjoys wonderful music, colorful tunes and hefty musicianship and I look forward to hearing more from this dynamic group.

Go to www.freshsoundrecords.com to purchase Not Afraid of Color.

Lyle Robinson