Characters On A Wall

The 13th leader date for ECM from clarinetist Louis Sclavis, fronting a quartet rounded out by pianist Benjamin Moussay, bassist Sarah Murcia, and drummer Christophe Lavernge, takes inspiration from the work of political artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest. The music combines jazz and classic parts into a soulful whole. In Sclavis’s hands, clarinets become multilingual entities, and yet no interpreters are needed besides ears to hear. Among his bandmates, Moussay unleashes a kindred spirit across varied cityscapes. The result is one of Sclavis’s “jazziest” sessions, making it accessible to those who would normally shy away from his freer experiments of the 90s.