Invisible Stream

Provence looms large on the global map of creative crucibles, a place where artists have long felt free to experiment and let their imaginations bypass the borders of convention. Invisible Stream documents what happened when classical cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and jazz saxophonist Raphaël Imbert met there in 2016, formed a quartet with keyboard player Pierre-François Blanchard and drummer Sonny Troupé, and began improvising on jazz and classical themes. The album’s highlights include a heart-melting homage to Schubert’s An die Musik, Imbert’s bittersweet Musique aux Images and deliciously wild Exil, and the saxophonist’s spellbinding embellishments around Raymond Le Sénéchal and Pierre Barouh’s hit for singer Françoise Hardy, “Des Ronds dans l’Eau”. Its kaleidoscopic, poetic shifts of mood, that also pervade Imbert’s Akim’s Spirit, catch the sensual delights of south-east France in high summer.