Above the liner notes to Muriel Grossmann’s album Breakthrough sits the headline »The Art of Letting Go« – which immediately raises the question: letting go of what, exactly? Nothing is being released or shed here. Instead, the quartet gathered around the saxophonist and jazz musician, born in 1971, is doing the opposite: they are connecting things. Groove and soul, heart and mind, the here and now. Their point of departure is Spiritual Jazz and Hard Bop.
The opening of »Indestructible« is carried almost entirely by Abel Boquera’s organ, before Grossmann’s saxophone and Radomir Milojkovic’s guitar step into the foreground. Everything unfolds with such ease and clarity that John Coltrane suggests himself as a reference – though this sound does not strive for transcendence, but is fully sufficient unto itself, grounded in the moment. »Abide« brings this approach to a close: its melody circles patiently, committed entirely to the present tense. One can feel how Breakthrough gently pulls you back into the now. There is no nostalgic haze here – just jazz that remains with itself, finding its clarity through motion and presence.
Breakthrough
