Will Régnier - Smoke and Mirrors (Themes From Traces) [Self Release]
- The Slow Music Movement
- Jun 9
- 1 min read
Will Régnier is a drummer, composer and producer from Montreal who has been studying and playing professionally for fifteen years; he certainly paid his dues before starting to release his own blend of genre fluid jazz fusion as a band leader in 2023.
Kicking off with some minimal yet fluid drums and bass - both from the man himself, that anchor the ambient atmospherics, the low gravity sax of Julien Fillion drifts in from a happy place to swirl and swoop amongst the lower frequencies and all but drown out what sounds like a sample from a tougher session that's looped up, buried but tingling and tantalising low down in the mix.
Don't get comfortable though, these boys are just warming up as halfway through the free jazz sample is left bare and signals that ambient jazz is only half their story. Fillion's sax leads the way, slowly rallying the still fluid, but increasingly forceful drumming until there's an intense free jazz twister blowing in the studio. And then, as if by magic, the winds cease and all is calm again, as a brief ambient outro surveys the damage and reassures the engineer they'll clean up the mess.
Whilst you're there check out the other two cuts on this cool EP - one a mellow piano folk affair, the other a decided heavier electronic fusion affair, that offer up a varied showcase of this man from Montreal's plans for the jazz world. I'm certainly now following with interest.
Playlist Companion
Find Regnier in good company over at the Slow Jazz Playlist:
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