VIENS DES QUATRE VENTS (MASAL)

I first became aware of Jean-Paul Prat through his "Masal" album released back in 1982. Jean- Paul was a huge MAGMA fan and the Zeuhl flavour was certainly strong at times on that his debut. Fast-forward some thirty plus years and we get his fourth studio album called "Viens Des Quatre Vents(Masal)". No Zeuhl flavour here at all and i'd describe this as a jazzy and pleasant work led by the sax and piano throughout. We do get some guitar and of course bass and drums. By the way Jean-Paul is not only a fantastic drummer but an accomplished piano player and guitarist, not to mention perhaps his strongest suit in composing music.

"A Pied Sec" is my favourite track and especially the intro with the deep sounding bass with drums as those beautiful piano melodies play over top. Guitar and sax also join in. A calm after 1 1/2 minutes as relaxed sax plays over top then it kicks back into that catchy and pleasant melody. "Viens Des Quatre Vents" has a similar flavour to the first track with the sax and piano being omni- present but this is a little more uptempo. Nice drum/bass/piano section after 1 1/2 minutes until around the 4 minute mark when that earlier theme returns. A calm follows and I like when the guitar joins in in a laid back manner. Sax will replace the guitar. "Mer Suspendue" opens with piano only but the sax joins in quickly, and there's some guitar soundscapes as well.

"Ayer, Hey Y Siempre" opens with that familiar sound except for the guitar which adds some atmosphere. What a breezy, summer-time feel to this one. Piano only after 5 minutes then it slowly builds. The tempo picks up more after 7 minutes with the piano leading the way then the guitar joins in before we get back to the original sound. "Paysages Du Ciel III" ends the album and this starts out in an uptempo manner with sax, piano and drums standing out. It changes 3 1/2 minutes and I really like this section with the piano and drums leading the way. Sax joins in a minute later then the guitar replaces the sax after 6 1/2 minutes. Sax is back a minute later. My favourite part of this is the final minute or so with the sax, drums and guitar.

This is a little samey but it's a very pleasant album to chill with.