A jazz-fusion séance with a prog-rock soul - Live Quintet 2025 by AQ&F is a masterclass in reinvention, restraint, and radiant complexity. Arnaud Quevedo, the La Rochelle-based multi-instrumentalist and sonic cartographer, returns with a leaner, meaner version of his ensemble: Arnaud Quevedo & Friends distilled into a five-piece unit. This isn't just a "live album"—it's a reimagining. Drawing from three previous studio releases and one unreleased track, the setlist is reshaped for a quintet format, recorded live with no overdubs, no safety net, and all the more thrilling for it. The result? A performance that feels like a high-wire act over a sea of shifting time signatures and harmonic mirages. Let's get this out of the way: yes, it's jazz fusion. But not the smooth, wine-bar kind. This is fusion with intent. Think Weather Report if they'd been raised on Magma and fed a steady diet of King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic. There's a rawness here, a sense of danger—as if the band might veer off the rails at any moment, only to land perfectly in sync on a dime. Arnaud Quevedo himself is a polymath on guitar, keys, and even alto sax (on Ryoko), weaving melodic threads through the chaos like a spider with a PhD in modal theory. Eloïse Baleynaud's vocals are a revelation—ethereal yet grounded, she floats above the fray on The Electric Princess suite, then dives into the rhythmic trenches on Any 2.0. Julien Gomila's sax work (soprano and baritone) adds a noir edge, like a jazz detective solving crimes in 7/8. Noé Russeil on bass and Hortense Mailhos on drums form a rhythm section that's both supple and surgical—never flashy, always essential. Live Quintet 2025 isn't just a live album—it's a "proof of concept". That AQ&F can strip down to five players and still conjure this much colour, complexity, and cohesion is a testament to their vision. It's jazz fusion for people who hate jazz fusion. It's prog without the pomposity. It's alive. If you're into bands that treat time signatures like playthings and melodies like mantras, this one's for you. ***+ David Carswell Where to buy? |
