Leon PHAL - Stress Killer
HEAVENLY SWEETNESS
Hip Hop / Drum n Bass / BreaksNew Vinyl LP (OBI) / 23 EUR / Staff Picks
With his state-of-the-art quintet, saxophonist Leon Phal revisits soul and electronica in an enthusiastic jam, bringing a French touch to his brand of jazz, on his second full length album and his frst for Heavenly Sweetness.
Picking up from his last album ‘Dust to Stars’ (Kyudo Records, 2021), ‘Stress Killer’ delves even deeper into the area between nightclub and jazz club culture.
As a graduate of Lausanne’s Haute Ecole de Musique, he’s a key artist within the much spoken about French new jazz scene. He’s joined by his faithful quintet of Arthur Alard (drums), Remi Bouyssiere (double bass), Gauthier Toux (keyboards) and Zacharie Ksyk (trumpet).
Embracing the desire to make people dance by approaching jazz as club music, “F*ck Yeah” highlights that goal perfectly. With its nods to the techno pioneers of Detroit and the deep house of Chicago. On the J Dilla inspired “Idylla”, we have the first feature on the album, coming in from Heavenly Sweetness / Pura Vida label mate, K.O.G. A behind the beat groove allows K.O.G’s spoken word to sit over Gauthier’s keys, intertwining beautifully together with the rest of the track. More mellow and reflective moments are to be found courtesy of “Balanced Action”, showing just how great Leon’s sax lines sound doubled with Zacharie’s trumpet.