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Ensemble C

Every Journey

Review by Gary Hill

This is quite an intriguing genre bending set of music. Of the album’s eight songs, only three run less than ten minutes. Everything here has vocals (by Brigitte Beraha), but only one song has lyrics. The singing on the rest all lands in non-lyrical territory. This does a great job of running somewhere between prog and jazz. It’s always entertaining and has some really standout moments.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume2. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
Track by Track Review
Every Journey
This comes in ambient and tentative with some atmospheric textures. It builds gradually. This turns jazzier, and there are some non-lyrical vocals at various points. Jazz and proggy elements merge with different aspects of that dichotomy dominating at different times. The fusion-oriented guitar led section later is absolutely on fire.
Flight

In some ways, this isn’t a big change. It has a lot of non-lyrical vocals and jazz vibes. It’s higher energy and more driving, though. It’s perhaps closer to traditional jazz and further from fusion. It’s no less powerful. It’s another classy piece of music. It works through a number of twists and turns and features some smoking hot instrumental work. The piano really gets to shine at times, but everyone puts in killer performances. There is some positively fierce jamming later, too.

The Birch and the Larch

A mellow arrangement is on the menu as this cut gets underway. It has lyrical vocals and really feels like a jazzy prog ballad. It builds upward somewhat from there later, but still remains more restrained than the previous pieces. That said, it has some great instrumental work and does remain in that jazzy prog zone.

Isabel

The rhythm section gets things underway here. The track works out from there to an arrangement that features both prog and jazz vibes. We’re back to the non-lyrical zones for the vocals. The evolves and gets into some pretty driving fusion territory later. This includes a percussion solo around three-quarters of the way through.

The Light of the Dark

The general formula is preserved, but this is a track that is unique to itself. The track leans more heavily toward the mellower side of the spectrum. It’s also a little less dynamic than some of the others.

Amboseli

This has some particularly powerful jamming at times. It leans toward more traditional jazz at points, but it still features plenty of classy art music and fusion stuff. There is a soaring sense of majesty at times.

That Nabongo Feeling

Energized and built around some smoking hot grooves, this might be my favorite track here. It combines the same basic concepts as we have heard throughout, but they just completely nail it here and up the ante.     

Home
Somehow this feels a little more ethereal, at least early. It turns more grounded and proggy further down the road, but then those two elements merge as it continues. It gets really powerful before it’s over.
 
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