21. Exploration
This Second of Jazz post is about composer and saxophonist Carlo Muscat’s album Explorations. Led by saxophonist and composer Carlo Muscat, the album features a lineup with pianist Joe Debono on Fender Rhodes, Oliver Degabriele on bass, and Joseph Camilleri on drums. Carlo is the composer of all tracks on this album, that was recorded in Paris at the Studios de la Seine.
Carlo began his musical education, and started to explore his love for jazz music, at the age of eleven. His influences are Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano and Mark Turner, to name a few. He won a scholarship to Berklee and had the opportunity to perform with, and learn from the notable drummer, Charles Gatt, founder of the Malta International Jazz Festival.
The album is, in Carlo’s own words, ‘an experimentation on extending the conventions of jazz music to incorporate a series of influences from other genres’.
Exploration is an interesting album with many lovely tracks. It has a wide range of styles and influences. Among my favorite traks are Antarctica, Ancestral Land and Cat Island. Cat Island…, a fitting title for an energetic and somewhat unpredictable tune like this.
