Experimental jazz with spoken word and lengthy sections of improvisations would hardly make a functional formula of smooth or soothing music. But what S’yo Fang manages to achieve on his latest album, I Prefer, is a solid trial that gets incredibly close.
The latest album from Taiwanese-Dutch pianist, composer, and arranger S’yo Fang is an hour-long affair of quirky, twisting, and turning, at once unfathomable and serene music that’s expansive and quite simply eye-opening. Born in Taiwan, S’yo had to earn every single piano lesson in his pursuit of jazz, which was a relatively under-represented style of music there until he relocated to Amsterdam and started studying in multiple conservatories in an environment that harbored his ambitions, skill, and unique musical vision, and the results speak for themselves on ‘I Prefer’.
The warm, earthy tones of the horns and woodwinds, the grand piano, upright bass, drums, and Priscilla Nokoe’s scintillating vocals make for a listen that’s enriching, and at multiple occasions, simply hypnotic. The music, rich with harmonic and rhythmic nuance, rarely ever feels forced or excessive, despite the tough exoskeleton. Instead, the timbres help create an atmosphere of familiar, jazzy sophistication, heightened by the mystique brought forth by Yoojin Ko’s improvised sections on the characterful flute.
The vocals gracefully carry a page out of Bjork’s book. The melodies writhe around the backing harmonies and along with the flow of the words and what they mean, creating a sense of coherence to each piece. And with the pieces clocking in at healthy times that often surpass the 7-minute mark, this is a fascinating achievement, and the result is that most of those dense and crowded compositions easily pass through. Perhaps a good analogy was a vision I had in mind while listening, in which I was a tenant in a boarding house right at the heart of some Tokyo alleyway, listening to the music as I looked from a low-down balcony, watching passersby go through their hectic daily lives, to a visual backdrop of exotic, colorful flora.
The music of ‘I Prefer’ drips with a sense of class and warmth that makes this album a truly embracing listening experience. In spite of an intimidating start, in the form of the increasingly experimental, tough, and unusual landscapes of Abnormal Love I (which are then revisited halfway through the album with Abnormal Love IV, then once again with Abnormal Love II), the remainder of the pieces on the album are exceedingly poetic and delicate, yet surefooted, and exude a particular grace that gives the pieces such confidence in their abilities to stir, despite their experimentation. Take ‘Tree’ for example. A 9-minute piece of unending harmonic and melodic experimentation, composed and intricate, yet thoroughly rewarding and compelling. Not once did I feel compelled to focus elsewhere other than the unending jangle of instrumentation that kept steadily and elegantly unfurling.
‘I Prefer’ is a remarkable collection of musical, deep cuts of experimental, lovingly crafted, rich jazz from a group of learning, practicing, and tasteful professionals. The S’yo Fang group has succeeded exceedingly in wowing us with this intricately composed and confident set of pieces. A must recommend for jazz aficionados.