The Random House quintet, led by Belgian saxophonist Thomas Champagne, has been forging its own path for several years with a clear identity and without unnecessary frills. Their music is rooted in post-bop: it leaves space, it breathes, but it doesn’t hesitate to look elsewhere when the need arises.
Following Sweet Day and Tide, the group returns with Keep it Up. An album that alternates between direct melodies, more open atmospheres and a more direct energy. It flows, it converses, it builds landscapes without losing its way. We move from almost suspended atmospheres to more electric moments, always with that sense of collective spirit that is the group’s strength.
With the arrival of trumpeter Pierre-Antoine Savoyat and drummer Yves Peeters, the sound gains even more depth. A new phase, a band asserting itself, without changing course.
Lively, composed, open jazz — exactly as we like it.
ALBUM Keep it Up (label Bleu Dans Vert, 02.2024)