Prominent LA-based electronic producer Tristan De Liège has teamed up with up-and-coming jazz ensemble Jambal for their new album Enterprises of Great Pith and Moment, released on the 15th September 2023 via Tristan De Liège X Jambal Music. Evoking images of artists like St Germain, Arms and Sleepers, Azymuth, and Ezra Collective, the album features their focus track ‘The Great Wave’, as well as their previous singles ‘Uncertainties’ and ‘Collisions Of Light’ which garnered support from prominent Spotify Editorial Playlist State Of Jazz, as well as CLASH Magazine and airplay from the UK National radio station Jazz FM’s John Osborne. The focus track ‘The Great Wave’ has already received early support from EARMILK, showing no signs of slowing down.
Belgian electronic/downtempo artist Tristan De Liège has accumulated nearly 3 million streams on Spotify alone. He has received support from publications, such as Stereofox, Faeton Music, The Sights and Sounds, River Beats Dance, and The Fox Magazine. He’s also had air time on BBC Radio, KEXP, KCRW, Worldwide FM, NTS, Dublab, and Soho Radio. Based in LA, California, Tristan de Liège writes and produces under several monikers, including Thoma (duo with Benjamin Hill) and Tethys. He has previously had his music feature in the indie game Faeria and has also released three albums (two as Thoma) on Emancipator’s Loci Records.
Emerging jazz Quartet Jambal hail from Luxembourg but are currently based in Amsterdam and Dresden. The Quartet is comprised of Arthur Clees (Vibes, Keys), Ben Bley (Trumpet, Flugelhorn) Maxime Igisch (Bass, Double Bass), and Luca Garofalo (Drums). These Jazz savants produce a sound that exhibits a sophisticated air of rare freshness and musicality, paying homage to UK and ethno-jazz. Having been featured in webzines London Jazz News, and RTL Today, Jambal has also been earning spins on Radio ARA and RTL’s station RTL Play. The band has also opened for notable band Portico Quartet at Luxembourg’s cultural centre Neimënster.
The focus track, ’The Great Wave’ is a delectably arranged fusion of jazz and electronica. With an emphasis on interesting time signatures and soundscapes, the drums are a stand-out as they accompany beautiful keys and droned out chords and strings. It’s experimental, and transitory, never quite settling down into a particular emotional motif.
Overall, the album is a beautiful display of musicality. Each song is unique, while still maintaining the same calm, improvised feel throughout. The album has a definite feeling of continuity and individual brilliance, where one should pay close attention to what each instrument has to say. Guitar riffs blend effortlessly with melancholic keys and trumpet crescendos, while the drumming is intricate and beautifully unpredictable. The emotive theme of the songs is often hard to pin-down, as tracks can quickly transition and begin portraying different feelings and expressions, making for a very interesting listening experience.
The artists had this to say on the LP, “This collaboration is very special to us, for many reasons. It is Tristan’s first foray into making a jazz album with a band, and it is Jambal’s first full-length album. Jambal’s European jazz aesthetics meeting Tristan’s inspirations from living in Los Angeles and collaborating with electronic and jazz players there resulted in a beautiful and interesting synergy that was surprising and fruitful – leading to a unique set of tracks that neither would have made on their own. The pieces also have a wide range of emotional expression and narrative, showcasing the full range of both Tristan’s composing approach and Jambal’s performance and interpretation”.
