From Hampton to Burton, in passing by Jackson and Hutcherson, the vibraphone, a most complete and unlikely percussion instrument has established itself as a jazz chromatic keyboard, as rich as any piano. Under the inspired mallets of Jean-Michel Davis, with elegance and fluidity, the vibraphone is affirmed in this triptych-like album as a wonderful instrument of caressing bars: long notes lingering in the ear, cascades of crystal beads, gentle tumbling of percussions, refinement of dosages, subtlety of nuances, friction and high frequency tremors, in short, everything that gives meaning to the etymology of the vibraphone: nearer and nearer to real voice vibrations. The great French percussionist Jean-Michel Davis (Les Movies Swingers, Les Primitifs du futur, Novelty Fox,…) author of two historic vibraphone-jazz method books, presents, for the first time on record, compositions and arrangements from these works. These ethereal tracks, like swirls of smoke, are reminiscent of the masterful contribution of this unique instrument to jazz history.
