When reviewing records, one criterion is usually put on the back foot: longevity. Writers often get promo copies a week before the deadline. Then, we can only anticipate whether it will remain exciting for several months. Case in point: back in June, I was lucky to review an album by British jazz composer Greg Foat. »Dolphin« seemed like a very good LP with few standout moments. In retrospect, I underestimated how persistently Foat’s collaboration with Gigi Masin would swim into my rotations. »Dolphin« fits gloomy Sundays, the background, and invites detail-oriented close-listening. Foat’s latest album, »Feathers«, aims for such versatility as well. On a high level, Foat creates seven cloudy pieces together with Finnish saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen. »Dolphin« was Ambient Jazz, aquatic, summery. »Feathers« is smooth, earthy, in the colors of fall. A melancholic wind blows through both albums. Its mildness calls into memory our mortality. But where »Dolphin« was immersive, »Feathers« is driven. This is not least due to percussionist Ilmari Heikinheimo. His dynamic performance fills the autumnal atmospheres with details without pushing himself into the foreground. »Feathers« is like an ingle: controlled, not too intense and therefore just right. Will it turn out to be a household mainstay? Only time will tell.
Misha Panfilov
In Focus
Jazzaggression