Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

Released on 10/11/2023 by Brainfeeder
Main artists: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Genre: Jazz

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Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a contemporary of such diverse and talented players as Thundercat and Kamasi Washington (both of whom appear here), has completed the work of a lifetime. Sampling flavors from a number of musical genres including ambient, pop and classical, the all-instrumental, three-and-a-half-hours-long Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1, filled with grand gestures and sweeping lines, is based in jazz. It stretches across 52 tracks, some of which like the solo bassoon flurry "Aldous" run less than a minute, while others like the ten-minute-long romantic piano and violin duet "Eudaimonia" are fully formed tone poems. The L.A.-based Atwood-Ferguson, who plays violin, viola, cello and keyboards, has been adaptable in his career (he’s been a sideman on over 600 albums) and here taps into a variety of emotions across this sprawling work, hewing to a cool, detached urban jazz groove. Atwood-Ferguson calls this mammoth undertaking—the result of a dozen years of planning, writing and recording—"a passionate statement of intent, a labor of love, and a realm of beautiful possibility" that in the end is "a natural, vitally unaffected life force." Strangely though, there doesn't seem to be any unifying theme or particular story to tell. The pieces pleasantly unfurl in an unhurried if random rhythm. Though recorded remotely during the pandemic in several live venues and studios by no fewer than six engineers including Atwood-Ferguson, the sound here is consistent. But the instrumentation varies widely from track to track. Bennie Maupin, who played on Miles Davis' landmark Bitches Brew, guests on bass clarinet on the opening track "Kiseki." "Plotinus" is 31 seconds of Midi and synth programming, and "Jijivisha" features reversed recordings of percussion, keyboards and bass. "Mångata," based on a Swedish word that according to Atwood-Ferguson "describes the moon's undulating reflection on water," is a solo piano piece played by Josh Nelson. Nine players feature on "Dragons of Eden," including a pair of young jazz stars: trumpeter star Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Intensely cinematic and lush, Les Jardin Mystiques Vol. 1, as its title implies, is just the first chapter of a planned musical triptych that will comprise ten and a half hours of original music. Never less than listenable, this is an astonishing achievement … with two more volumes yet to come. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

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Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

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Kiseki