Nicolas Meier World Group

“Elysian Drift”

(MGP Records – GOCD028)

Nicolas Meier – nylon string fretted and fretless guitars, steel string & 12 string guitars, jazz guitar
Demi Garcia Sabat – percussion
Randolph Matthews – vocals
Tom Mason – acoustic bass
Richard Jones – violin
Alex Hutton – piano

with guest;
Jose Almarcha – flamenco guitar (track 9)

The Swiss born, London based guitarist and composer Nicolas Meier is a long time Jazzmann favourite who has featured on these web pages on multiple occasions.

Initially influenced by Pat Metheny he is a skilled and intelligent composer who has diverged from this initial inspiration to absorb a broad variety of musical influences, often sourced from the Middle East, North Africa, Iberia and other areas around the Mediterranean.

Meier’s fascination with the music of the Middle East is inspired by his Turkish wife, Songul, who acts as his muse and who also provides the distinctive artwork that has graced the covers of many his recordings, including this one.

His musical journey has been documented on such excellent albums as “Orient” (2006), “Journey” and “Breeze” (both 2010), “From Istanbul to Cueta with a Smile” (2013), “Peaceful” (2019) and the triple set “Magnificent” (2022).  All of these have been reviewed elsewhere on the Jazzmann, as have a number of live performances by various editions of the Meier group.

Meier’s other projects include a duo with fellow guitarist Pete Oxley (of Hejira fame), with whom he has also released a number of recordings including the live recording “Travels to the West” (2012) and the studio set “Chasing Tales (2015).

The 2017 double album “The Colours of Time” featured one disc of guitar duets while the second saw the group extended to a quartet with addition of bassist Raph Mizraki, a long time associate of Oxley’s, and drummer Paul Cavaciuti. 2019’s “The Alluring Ascent” was a full quartet album, with the group augmented on five of the ten tracks by percussionist Keith Fairbairn.

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy and to cover live performances by the Oxley-Meier Guitar Project in both its duo and quartet incarnations.

Meier’s skill and versatility earned him a lengthy stint as a member of the late, great rock guitarist Jeff Beck’s band, while his 2017 trio album “Infinity” was made in the company of US jazz heavyweights Jimmy Haslip (bass) and Vinnie Colaiuta (drums). Meier has also collaborated with fellow guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Ric Fierabracci, and drummer Chad Wackerman.

Meier has also worked with cellist Shirley Smart, bassist Nick Kacal’s Guerilla Sound group, drummer Robert Castelli’s Boom Quartet and the genre hopping quartet Eclectica!, which also included Pete Oxley. He also played on, and produced, the 2018 album release “Across The Bridge”  by the Belgian born vocalist and songwriter Gabrielle Ducomble.

In 2025 Meier collaborated with jazz/soul vocalist Ola Onabulé  on the album “Proof of Life” and with fellow guitarist Dewa Bujana on the album “Flying Spirits”.

Meier also plays with the group Seven7 which combines his current jazz and world music influences with the sounds of his first musical love, heavy metal.

More than two dozen musicians have passed through the ranks of various Meier groups  over the years. “Elysian Drift” features the latest edition of the World Group with long serving members Richard Jones (violin) and Demo Garcia Sabat (percussion), joined by pianist Alex Hutton, bassist Tom Mason and vocalist Randolph Matthews.

Once a quartet featuring electric bass specialist Kevin Glasgow the group has been expanded to a sextet with the addition of first Hutton and then Matthews.

It’s the first time that vocals have been featured on a Meier Group recording and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but Matthews proves to be a welcome addition to the World Group sound, a versatile and adaptable singer whose often wordless vocals provide extra colour and depth to the music. The use of the human voice has also been a consistent factor in much of Pat Metheny’s output for over forty years and it’s interesting that the Meier – Metheny comparisons should emerge again at this stage in Meier’s career. That said the sound of Meier’s World Group is radically different to that of Metheny’s current Side Eye project, which features vocalist Leonard Patton.

Meier says of this latest World Group recording;
“Wherever we travel I love hearing the sounds of new places, new landscapes and new cultures. Those experiences inevitably inspire new music. This album represents the places we’ve visited, the emotions we’ve felt and the people we’ve met along the way”.

The material features nine original compositions by Meier, one by Hutton and two covers, these bookending the album.

The album commences with Meier’s take on Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”, introduced by the leader on acoustic guitar, with violin, percussion and Matthews’ quasi shamanic vocals subsequently added.

Meier’s ornate guitar and Matthews’ muezzin like wail transport Chaplin’s tune to the Middle East and the journey continues with the title track, which takes us deeper into the desert with Matthews’ vocal percussion combining with Sabat to establish a driving groove that fuels the melodic inventiveness of Meier, Jones and featured soloist Hutton at the piano.

The album is presented as a globe trotting journey with one track seguing into another. I’ve often described Meier’s recordings and live performances as “musical journeys” or “musical world tours”. Our next destination is Argentina for “The Last Tango, Meier’s homage to the great bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla. Combining tango rhythms with soaring vocal and violin melodies this piece also includes instrumental solos from Meier on guitar and Jones on violin. On this recording Meier largely plays acoustically, utilising his extensive collection of guitars, highly distinctive instruments manufactured for him by the Canadian company Godin.

The title “Discover The World” could serve as a manifesto for Meier and the Group. This vibrant, fast moving composition returns us to the Middle East and is an all instrumental piece that features driving rhythms and virtuoso soloing with bassist Tom Mason featuring alongside Meier and Jones, with Meier’s guitar sounding oud like at times.

Matthews returns to add his vocals to the atmospheric “Colossal”, inspired by the Pyramids, an immaculately constructed musical edifice shimmering on the horizon of the Egyptian desert.  His emotive vocals add an impressive heat and passion to the music, qualities enhanced by Jones’ soaring violin. This is the first Meier album to feature vocals extensively and initially I was a little wary about seeing a singer listed in the line up. However I needn’t have worried, Matthews’ contributions are excellent throughout the recording and add even more breadth of colour to the music. He is a versatile and technically gifted performer capable of singing in a variety of styles and languages and he has quickly established himself as an integral member of the Group.

“Mystical” transports us to North West Africa and features the sounds of the metal castanets,  known as qraqebs, that are used by the Gnawa musicians of Morocco. Meier again deploys the glissentar to achieve an oud like sound while Matthews, Hutton and Jones also make important contributions to the ensemble sound. As a rhythm team Mason and Sabat are superb, providing the necessary drive and impetus, but also adding a wealth of colour and detail to the music, with Sabat’s command of a vast array of exotic percussion a particularly distinctive component within the Group sound. His playing comes to the fore here in the form of a welcome percussion feature, and rightly so.

A short passage of unaccompanied guitar introduces “Beneath the Turquoise”, a composition that features one of Meier’s most beautiful melodies. As a composer he exhibits a remarkable gift for melody throughout the album, something further enhanced here by a lush arrangement featuring Matthews’ soaring, soulful vocals and Hutton’s flowingly lyrical piano.

“Mesa” increases the pace with its flamenco and Arabic flourishes as the leader’s guitar combines with Jones’ violin, the whole fuelled by Sabat’s restless percussive drive. Acoustic and electric sounds are juxtaposed as Meier’s electric guitar solo is followed by Jones’ mercurial violin.

“A Night in Sant Cugat” takes us to Catalonia and finds flamenco guitarist Jose Almarcha added to the Group. The focus may be on the dialogue between the two guitarists, particularly in the lengthy central section, but there are some fine ensemble moments too on the album’s longest track. Matthews makes a substantial vocal contribution, his passionate singing entering fully into the flamenco spirit.

Alex Hutton’s composition “Clouds” is a charming piece featuring the interplay of piano and guitar, sensitively underscored by bass and percussion. Hutton and Meier also enjoy individual features as part of this delightful quartet performance.

“Kekova Sunset” returns us to Meier’s spiritual homeland of Turkey and the urgent opening section features more of the leader’s virtuoso picking alongside Jones’ darting violin melodies and the brisk patter of Sabat’s percussion. The second section is gentler and more introspective with Hutton’s piano lyricism coming to the fore. Jones’ violin then assumes the lead as the pace increases once more, culminating in a percussion feature for the consistently excellent Sabat. Finally the frantically infectious ‘head’ returns as the piece ends with a joyous and energetic flourish.

The album concludes with Meier’s interpretation of Oscar Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom”, a piece chosen for its “enduring message of unity, compassion and hope”. As with the opening “Smile” Meier stamps his own identity on the piece but does so with taste and dignity, staying true to the spirit of the original while still making it his own. He retains something of the gospel spirit while subtly transforming the piece, with guitar and violin now the lead instruments.

“Elysian Drift” finds Meier continuing to hone what has become a signature sound. He has been developing his pan-cultural approach to jazz for the past twenty years and this latest release is arguably his most brilliantly realised album yet. The expansion of the World Group to a sextet offers Meier even more scope as a composer and arranger and both Hutton and Matthews bring added depth and colour to the Group sound. The quality of the writing and arranging is excellent throughout and the ensemble sound is rich in terms of colour, texture, nuance and detail, with each and every musician making a telling contribution to the success of the album as a whole.

The use of vocals will doubtless elicit some Metheny comparisons but Matthews displays greater emotion and versatility than the Metheny Group vocalists and sings across a far broader range of styles. His contribution to the success of the “Elysian Drift” really is a revelation.

But ultimately the triumph is Meier’s as the architect and visionary behind this increasingly personal and distinctive brand of ‘world jazz’. The music of “Elysian Drift” isn’t always easy to describe as it is so rich and detailed and there is just so much going on. But for all that it’s melodic, accessible and an absolute delight to listen to. Highly recommended.

“Elysian Drift” and other recordings by Nicolas Meier can be purchased here;
https://mgprecords.bandcamp.com/

See also;
https://www.meiergroup.com/

blog comments powered by Disqus