Jean-Marc Foltz w/ Matt Turner & Bill Carrothers - To the Moon

Phillip McNally, Cadence Magazine

Foltz on To The Moon plays both standard and bass clarinet in a trio with Matt Turner’s cello and Bill Carrothers on piano. Most of these group improvisations are brief and pointed, not wandering to find a theme or direction, so I suspect the trio has played together for a while. While there is some use of prepared piano and some atmospheric overtones on the cello, Carrothers has a strong feel for the chromatic harmonies of impressionism. So, while there are touches of dissonance, they are only momentary peppery seasoning, and this trio is not about exploring the extremes of their instruments. All of this and the notable lack of percussion in the trio it puts this improvised music into more of a classical realm. Foltz has a woody, warm tone and a love of harmonically complex melody, and To The Moon is no swinger, though it is loaded with a wondrous modal beauty.