Tam de Villiers Panacea [import]

For the the best part of a decade, the quartet of British-born guitarist Tam de Villiers (now firmly established in France) has been striving for musical authenticity, compositional originality and honest group interplay. Avoiding pastiche of the past and present, and deftly side-stepping the fleeting musical trends of the moment, the aim here is to explore a personal take on the human experience, defying genres and period. Resolutely idiosyncratic, the music of Tam de Villiers surprises, and astonishes the listener with a melting pot of influences seamlessly combined into an original voice. What starts out as a jazz piece, leads US into a contrapuntal baroque fantasie, then veers off into abrasive progressive rock, skimming past rockabilly twangs before plunging into a trance inducing minimalist motif. Yet despite the apparent eclecticism, there is a carefully crafted archetypal balance underpinning the form here that brings a sense of classical coherence to the notes, both written and improvised. Continuing to develop musical relationships by working closely with this regular team of musicians, amongst the best of the French scene new generation in Karl Jannuska (drums), David Prez (tenor saxophone), and Frederic Chiffoleau (double bass, ) de Villiers releases his the latest album Panacea, his first for Whirlwind Recordings. This new opus expands upon the quartet's body of work following the critically acclaimed albums, Alba Lux 2008 and Motion Unfolding 2011. Personnel: Tam de Villiers (guitar), David Prez (tenor saxophone), Frederic Chiffoleau (electric and double bass), Karl Jannuska (drums), Gabor Winand (voice - 2, 4, 7, 10)