# CD review: Gregoire Maret, Romain Collin & Bill Frisell – Americana 2020: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2020/05/07/cd-review-gregoire-maret-romain-collin-bill-frisell-americana-2020-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2020-05-07T14:53:18+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret and acclaimed pianist Romain Collin team up 
to paint an egalitarian vision of the American Dream, exploring the varied roots
of American music alongside guitar visionary Bill Frisell.**

“Americana” represents an exciting collaboration between two prodigious musicians:
harmonica great Gregoire Maret, and acclaimed pianist Romain Collin. Grégoire Maret
is a phenomenon and a master musician. He is a virtuoso with a vivid imagination
and a sublime way of giving shape to a melody. Collin, meanwhile, has been described
by NPR as “a visionary composer, an extraordinary jazz pianist” and by the Boston
Globe as being “among the leading lights of a new breed of players”. Upon meeting
each other in New York, the two musicians bonded over a shared love of jazz, song
and pure melody. Together they embarked on a project which would explore the musical
depths of the American soul. They turned to the uniquely great Bill Frisell to help
forge a connection between American songwriting and the high art of instrumental
playing. In this musical world, vast soundscapes co-exist with epic stories.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Maret has been a NYC resident for the past 20 years.“
My mother is American, born in Harlem, and has bequeathed me the legacy of Afro-
American culture. I see myself as a bridge between two cultures: European and Afro-
American”. Maret has been a significant figure on the New York scene, playing alongside
Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock. “This new album is the result of personal cultural
experiences.” Maret and Collin chose to call this project “Americana”. They explain:“‘
Americana’ is at the intersection of folk, country, blues, R&B, gospel and bluegrass.
The essence of this project is to take an inclusive attitude to all of the roots
of American music and culture.” France native Collin has become an established presence
in the US. Appreciated by the likes of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, Collin 
has evolved a distinctive aesthetic, integrating electronic sound design with lyrical
piano improvisations. On guitars, the duo enlisted the services of one of the great
creative minds of the instrument: Bill Frisell’s singing, lyrical timbre on both
the electric and acoustic guitar is unmistakable, always marked by his own personal
metamorphoses of bluegrass, country and blues and by his profound knowledge of the
philosophy of songwriting. Dummer Clarence Penn also makes a fine, incisive contribution.

The Americana trio’s journey starts with a surprise: the composer of “Brothers In
Arms” is not actually American at all. And yet Scottish-born Mark Knopfler proved
with Dire Straits that his way of internalizing the myths of American history is
not just skillful but also highly persuasive. Maret and Collin pare back his 1985
hit to its essence. It is simple, spacious and highly affecting. From his immense
body of work, Bill Frisell has contributed two compositions, “Small Town” and “Rain,
Rain”: the first of the pair emerges as a bewitching folk song in miniature, with
rustic-dry banjo and wistful mouth organ, and the second song hovers with a hymn-
like poise over the melodic web of guitars, piano and harmonica. This ensemble also
pays homage to one of the great songwriters, Jimmy Webb. His “Wichita Lineman” gains
even more spatial depth in this slowed-down instrumental version, the soul of the
railwayman almost sings in Maret’s heart-rending improvisation. The group also honors
Justin Vernon (alias Bon Iver), an Americana representative of the hipster generation,
in “Re: Stacks”. Here Maret gives encouragement to a broken heart for a new chapter
in life, surrounded by a glistening array of textures sculpted by Frisell, and supported
by Collin’s electronic loops and synth bass.

Maret and Collin have also brought the essence of Americana in their own compositions:
Romain Collin portrays the wine-growing region of California in “San Luis Obispo”,
a song from his 2015 ACT release Press Enter, beautifully revisited with Frisell
and Maret stating the melody with total persuasiveness. Maret has succeeded in creating
a slow 6/8 song named “Back Home”, which is as proud as it is heartfelt. A composition
Clarence Penn underscores with his discreet brushwork and in which Maret soars to
an almost exuberant triumph before bringing the track to a calm close. “The Sail”,
on the other hand, heralds a new departure: the piano alternates with the harmonica
to create a sweeping dramaturgy, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes resolute. And in
their joint final piece “Still”, Maret and Collin have the opportunity to reflect
and meditate on their American journey.

“Wherever Gregoire Maret stands, whenever he lifts his instrument to his lips, the
room and all its inhabitants are immediately transformed, we are transported with
a sweet yet powerful intensity to a higher plane.” These are the words of high praise
which Grégoire Maret once received from Cassandra Wilson, with whom he has worked
for many years. This is also a particularly apt way to describe the soulful and 
life-affirming “Americana”.

01. Brothers in Arms (3:08)
 02. Small Town (3:58) 03. Rain Rain (6:16) 04. San 
Luis Obispo (4:03) 05. Back Home (5:16) 06. Wichita Lineman (5:27) 07. The Sail (
7:07) 08. Re: Stacks (8:14) 09. Still (6:11) 10. Re: Stacks (Radio Edit) (4:50)

**Grégoire Maret / harmonica**
 **Romain Collin / piano, Moog Taurus, pump organ&
additional effects** **Bill Frisell / electric guitar, acoustic guitar & banjo****
Clarence Penn / drums**

![Gregoire Maret, Romain Collin & Bill Frisell - Wichita Lineman - KKBOX](https://
i0.wp.com/i.kfs.io/album/global/71098717%2C0v1/fit/500x500.jpg?resize=640%2C640&
ssl=1)

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