Dave Painchaud: Tales Told And Journeys Imagined

Dave Painchaud’s Tales Told And Journeys Imagined begins a bit soft for me as it opens on a Funk Jazz implosion titled Making An Entrance. It’s fantastic on its own merits mind you, but nothing I haven’t heard from this genre before. It reminds me of the theme song for Barry Sonnenfeld’s Get Shorty or some track pulled directly from a Medeski, Martin & Wood album. On it’s own, again, it’s lots of fun, but for me personally I’ve been here. So my question as I sat through the, just one second shy of, seven minute track was, “Is this what’s in store for me for the next hour and seven minutes, almost eight?”

I was a bit surprised by the remainder of the album. Painchaud’s album is a testing ground, it felt like, of Jazz standards and deviate sounds thrown together to create something that will have Jazz fans either shaking their heads or, if their true Jazz fans and recall this genre is a staple for improvisation and exploration, they’ll simply sit back and let the music take them places. Of course it’s not often that so many sounds are thrown together on one album, unless it’s a compilation. So how to explain?

Take track two, In Transit, which has a very filmic quality to it’s sound. The track has a very organic ambiance, almost trance quality, to it that blares a smeared bass line across its face and that somehow brings out the amazing percussion on the track that is a cross between simple and complex at the same time. It’s a track that takes you to a foreign land and just relaxes you with its continuous straight line of sound before teetering off into what seems like an extension of itself in track three, a nod to Tchaikovsky.

Track four, Passage To Nain, is a very strange track that will probably have listeners on the fence. It feels a lot like experimentation with sound then it does with the construction and use of sound. At times it’s quite beautiful but sometimes it wears out its welcome.

Searching and Ruminating is the following track that plays on that Funk Jazz sound but leans more towards a Noir inspiration. I sit back in my chair and close my eyes and find myself wandering the streets of San Francisco or New York when I listen to it. This is the kind of music that would follow a hard as nails private eye as he roughs it out there in the world, uncovering scandals and getting knocked around a bit. I really enjoyed this track.

Like Passage To Nain, The Resolute is another track that finds itself kind of without identity. It’s a strange barrage of sounds, quite possibly something you would hear in an eerie church or old school horror film set in a broken down old mansion. Again, the audience will more then likely find themselves on the fence.

Spring Bloom feels like an excerpt from In Transit more then anything. I did like the bass in this track but found it to be a bit of a revisit, maybe with a bit more flare, but quickly found myself back in the albums flow with Presently (Street Mumbles To Somnambulism). This track begins with some off electronic warbling that catches your interest right off the bat before just bursting into a mad drum and bass (not that kind) flurry that has you out of your seat nodding your head and tapping your toe. The movement of this track is infectious and impressive.

Session Rides feels like a return to Jazz Standard without all the bells and whistles. If you are one of the Jazz fans that felt awkwardly out of place for the first half of the album this will probably set you at ease. Painchaud’s horn sings to this wonderful but short number which is followed by Device texture, another infectious track that is easy to fall into.

Finally the album is closed out with a three part closer; Up Number Indigo I: Approaching The Anomaly, Up Number Indigo II: Curative Transfer, and Up Number Indigo III: The Arrival At Indigo And The Promise Of Summer. Each track takes on a different personality that will leave you in awe or have you scratching your head. The first of the three is a nod to percussion as it moves forward with a plethora of raw sounds that, to me, do not make for repeat visits (at least not on this track). Is it impressive? Sure, but a very experimental gamble complete with strange samples and electronic hums the likes nightmares might be made out of. I’ll be sure not to fall asleep with my earphones on while listening to this track. The next part of the finale is also a bit of a scary place. It reminds me of a horror film that takes place in a child’s bedroom. I couldn’t help but feel like at any moment something loud was about burst through my headphones and give me a heart attack. Finally in the last part of the finale Painchaud falls back into the standard offering up a beautiful horn soaked tune that ends the album on a glorious high note.

I think if you spend some time with the album, I spun it about three or four times, there will be tunes on it that your sure you hated that will start to make sense to you. It’s an interesting album that takes you in many different directions, some that you’ll love and others you might not, but it’s a daring adventure for those of you out there that are either living in the past as far as Jazz music is concerned or those of you out there that stick to the safe stuff. It’s an interesting experience to say the least. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.

CD Images

Cover: 

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