" If you articulate the word “Rivages” aloud you breathe in and then out, gently and naturally. And so it is with this album by Jean-Louis Matinier and Kevin Seddiki: the breathing qualities of accordion and guitar are in complete and satisfying sympathy. Accordionist Matinier has appeared on ECM before, with Anouar Brahem on Le pas du Chat Noir and Louis Sclavis on Dans la Nuit, and he accompanied Juliette Gréco on tour. Seddiki is making his ECM debut with this album, having studied classical guitar and making his mark with several other duos – with percussionist Bijan Cheminari and singer Sandra Rumolino. Early on in his career Seddiki accompanied Dino Saluzzi and Al di Meola.

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Seddiki has a sound of his own, characterised by delicate and nimble picking with a resonant percussive quality (enhanced by his study of the zarb with Cheminari), above all his sound and approach is supremely graceful and lyrical. Matinier is a master of the accordion, whose sustained notes that ebb and flow provide the perfect foil for the guitar. With a duo there is nowhere to hide, it is perhaps the most challenging but also the most rewarding, thoughtful and personal of musical partnerships. They share the lead and composition balance as equals. The inclusion of a solo improvised piece, Derivando, by Seddiki indicates Matinier’s high regard for Seddiki. The atmosphere of this album is dreamy, indeed one track is called Rêverie. The rocking of a baby’s cradle is imagined in the gentle Fauré, Les berceaux. Miroirs is an improvised piece, abstract and darker, the gentlest fluttering of hands on guitar body reminding us of Seddiki’s prowess on the zarb. Feux Follets, also improvised, is a delicious wisp of breathless restless fingerwork. Sous l’horizon by Matinier is the slowest piece, a gentle and meditative ending to a beautiful album by two masters at ease with each other and a stunning debut on ECM for Seddiki."

 

London Jazz News