Celine Bonacina Trio

“Way Of Life”

(ACT Music ACT 9498-2)

ACT’s latest signing is this young French born saxophonist and composer. Bonacina is something of a baritone specialist but “Way Of Life” is no tired homage to the likes of Gerry Mulligan or Serge Chaloff. Instead it’s a vital, vivacious and sometimes humorous slice of swinging world jazz performed with great elan by an excellent international band.

On four of the eleven tracks the ensemble includes the French/Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Le, an ACT stalwart and the man responsible for bringing Bonacina to the attention of ACT label boss Siggi Loch.

Bonacina studied in Belfort, Besancon and Paris and was a first call section player in a number of Parisian big bands. She subsequently worked with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and British saxophonist Andy Sheppard. She then went to live on the French Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean for seven years and it is the music she learnt during this sojourn that informs much of her current output. Bonacina’s compositions are often complex but are always grounded in eminently danceable grooves and rhythms. She and her trio play with great exuberance and throw a wide variety of world music flavours into a piquant and spicy musical stew. 

Bonacina’s début album “Vue d’en Haut” attracted widespread critical acclaim in France and resulted in an award winning performance at the 2009 Jazz a’ Vienne festival, another stepping stone in the process that led to her acquiring a contract with ACT.

The core trio on “Way Of Life” comprises of Bonacina on saxophone and occasional vocals,  electric bassist Nicolas Garnier and the remarkable drummer/percussionist/vocalist Hary Ratsimbazafy. Ratsimbazafy hails from the Malagasy Republic (or Madagascar if you prefer) and he adds a huge amount of colour to Bonacina’s already vibrant music. He exudes the same kind of effortless swing as Manu Katche, the latter a stellar presence on the French jazz scene, and this, together with Garnier’s sinuous bass grooves really helps to drive Bonacina’s music. The trio make a surprisingly big and diverse sound that impresses in and of itself with Le’s contributions adding the icing to an already richly textured cake. Bonacina plays baritone on all thirteen selections, sometimes overdubbing herself on alto and soprano and at other moments adding wordless vocals.

Bonacina’s baritone provides the hook for the opening “Zig Zag Blues”. She exhibits a remarkable agility on what is sometimes seen as a cumbersome instrument but her playing here is also earthy and bluesy, the gruffness offset by the sweetness of her overdubbed faux na?ve vocals. The playfulness of the opener is underscored by the supple grooves of Garnier and Ratsimbazafy.

“Course Pour Suite” has deep rumbling bass grooves that owe something to the stylings of dub reggae. Bonacina’s saxophones snake seductively and powerfully around this pulse as Ratsimbafy’s crisp drumming provides extra propulsion. Attention grabbing but not devoid of subtlety the piece again encapsulates Bonacina’s playful, unpretentious approach. It’s good, consistently charming stuff.

Le comes on board for “Ra Bentr’ol” which sees another change of sound with African style guitar and percussion. However the trio’s trademark exuberance is still very much in evidence with Le totally integrated into Bonacina’s musical concept. Most tracks are short, quickly establishing a mood or style and no piece is allowed to outstay its welcome. This is longer than most with Le turning in a solo full of slippery, cleanly picked lines and idiosyncratic chording. There’s also a couple of percussion features for the colourful Ratsimbazafy.   

“Wake Up” opens with stunning solo baritone sax, all over-blowing and percussive effects, before exploding into a joyous funk fuelled work out as the rest of the trio come in. But this is funk without the clichés, this is jam packed with interesting sounds and maintains the album’s almost omnipresent sense of fun.

That said the elegiac “Free Woman” introduces a more serious feel to the proceedings as Bonacina makes the baritone sound positively beautiful on a ballad that blurs the lines between structure and freedom.“Travel Story” continues the impressionistic mood with its sampled speech and gentle but joyous Afrobeat melodies and choruses, the latter featuring the harmonised vocalising of Banacina and Ratsimbazafy.

The Afrobeat flavour continues into “Ekena” which once again adds Le’s guitar to the mix. His role varies greatly, from soundwash provider to chording accompanist to dynamic rock influenced soloist. Bonacina’s own solo is also a powerful statement on this tune co-written with drummer Hary Ratsimbazafy.

Two brief miniatures follow, the solo baritone “Deep Red” and the funky thrash of “RAB” by writing collaborator Roland Molinier. Then comes “Histoire de”,  another Molinier piece,  which proves to be an exuberant duet between Bonacina on baritone and wordless vocal and Ratsimbazafy at the drums. 

“Jungle” is one of the album’s stand out tracks with Bonacina featuring on alto and Le on guitar. The latter’s feverish guitar solo is a particular highlight with Bonacina’s biting alto generating equal intensity above the sturdy rock groove of the rhythm section. There are also some dazzling unison passages for guitar and alto on one of the album’s most impressive pieces.

Molinier’s song like “Entre Deux Reves” is equally impressive. Impressionistic and anthemic by turns it features Bonacina on soprano alongside Le again on guitar, the latter now at his most “Eastern”. At just under eight minutes it’s the lengthiest track on the album and aspires to epic status, something it mostly achieves with its blend of jazz soloing and rock dynamics. The brief “Toty Come Bach” is a brief solo saxophone coda that borrows heavily from good old Johann Sebastian as the title suggests.

“Way Of Life” is a distinctive and highly individualistic album that establishes Bonacina as a name to watch. It’s both quirky and accessible and is likely to have some appeal to curious rock listeners. Some reviewers have criticised the lack of real jazz content and certainly there is a tendency towards the use of rock rhythms but these are deployed with invention and imagination throughout. In a varied and well paced programme that encompasses a variety of styles Bonacina and her colleagues continually manage to catch and hold the listeners attention. “Way Of Life” has an infectious and irreverent charm and it is easy to see why Bonacina has become a popular figure on the European festival circuit. This is an album with much to recommend it.

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