Laurent Rochelle Okidoki Quartet - Au-Dela Des Brumes (2023)

A little jazz doesn't hurt these days. Here finally comes the great return of Okidoki who remains as present on the scene as ever with a tailor-made discography and which is piling up with a new disc soberly titled Beyond the Mists.

Laurent Rochelle (soprano sax, bass clarinet), Anja Kowalski (vocals), Frédéric Schadoroff (piano) and Jean-Denis Rivaleau (drums) continue to intoxicate us through these nine absolutely poetic compositions. Just close your eyes and let yourself be carried away by this distinguished fiery energy on jovial titles such as "Tsumi Variations" which opens the ball but also "Waiting" and "A Special Day" for the less vitaminized.

With Beyond the Mists, Okidoki manages to make us smile again with these intoxicating and solar melodies. Whether on "Goodbyes" or on "Your Own Little Sky", the quartet stays in top form before digging the furrow with the splendid "Dive With Me" and "The dance of the spirits" as a brilliant closing. Once again, the quartet does not disappoint with this resolutely invigorating disc.