WHATEVER I PLAY, YOU WON'T LISTEN

Once again, we find the artist Sébastien Gramond travelling back to his loose jazz-fusion. A style that has served him quite well thus far in his career, the well-regarded French multi-instrumentalist sees his skills serve him quite well here, although it does feel as if his obvious talents with the instruments outweigh the actual writing of the music here.

An artist whose music I have more or less enjoyed consistently since I began listening to him, Sébastien Gramond has gone through a great many styles. 'Whatever I Play, You Won't Listen' seems to imply his yearning to experiment with a great many different sounds, but you might not get that impression with this album, would this be the only thing you have heard. While some albums have been weakened by the fact they are so over the place, Gramond's work here doesn't go much farther than a somewhat noodly jam-driven jazz fusion. The compositions are fairly loose in nature, leaving the instruments (all performed by Gramond himself) to explore as they please. While this can be great in short spurts, the lack of memorable melodies here can really hurt the experience.

That being said, the musicianship here is great, and perfect for a chill, at times psychedelic excursion. Gramond really rips out his keyboard skills here, making it sing during some of the album's best moments. The solos here are the real treat, taking what would otherwise be a somewhat bland arrangement and turning it into something really cool. The fifteen minute 'Uranus Ring' and the shorter 'Lydia's Space Cake' are two tracks that do this the best.

Not one of Gramond's greater achievements, but it reminds me what a great musician he is.