Red Moon

Moutin Reunion Quartet: Francois Moutin (acoustic bass); Louis Moutin (drums); Rick Margitza (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Baptiste Trotignon (piano).
Recorded at Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, New York in May 2003.
The twin brothers François and Louis Moutin co-lead this intriguing post-bop jazz quartet. The group is called a "reunion" because, after growing up together, the Moutins played music thousands of miles apart from each other for 11 years when bassist François moved to the U.S. while drummer Louis chose to stay in France. Despite the time spent apart, the close communication between the Moutins makes this quartet sound very tight even on the most complex material. François and Louis contributed four challenging pieces apiece; they reharmonize "Stompin' at the Savoy" and take an almost unrecognizable "Beyond the Sea" as a bass/drums duet. Some of the pieces are introverted, while others (such as "Jazz Married" and "Sailing Through the Clouds") are full of rollicking playing or unusual rhythms ("Taking Off"). Although the results are sometimes a bit dry, the adventurous solos of pianist Baptiste Trotignon and American saxophonist Rick Margitza help keep the music consistently unpredictable. ~ Scott Yanow