Momentum By Javier Márquez

 

Momentum

By

Javier Márquez

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

There are times an album will float into your life with all the harmonic grace of a feather from an airborne dove, a release filled with peace, tranquil beauty and a sublime nature that makes the listening experience so very heart felt and emotional. That occurrence has just happened with the arrival of Momentum by Javier Márquez, a release that may well be one of the most outstanding of 2024 for me.

I have listened several times to this album, it’s something that truly has to be done, I wanted the experience to be immersive before I reached for the keyboard to start writing, and I am so glad I did, tracks like the stunning Resilience filled my musical heart with an abundance of colour and joy, the convergence of an ethereal bliss was brought to a new height by the charming vocals of Julie Elven, with Pablo Cano on electric guitar also creating great charm, and in doing so adding much to the multi-instrumental mastery of Márquez.

The Spanish born composer and musician is a breath of fresh air to the music business, and Momentum a release that should be praised for its utter quality, like the track Duermevela which is a fine example of that prowess, however the highlight for me on this piece was the amazing work of one José Manuel Posada "Popo" on fretless bass, that segment is worth multiple listens.

I liken this release to an album I have loved for years called Pictured Within, by the late but great Jon Lord, it’s completely different in its musical compositional structures and style, but creates such a deep and emotional response, as did the aforementioned album. Listen to track 3, as yet another segment of emotive bliss called Quietude can be found here, the arrangement is reflective and serene. The Gito Maletá piano was a thing of great beauty, whilst a sublime idyllic sense of solemn peace could be found in the Armenian duduk of Márquez.

As we approach the half way juncture we find the title track, this slice of creative genius is yet another moving musical tribute of high class contemporary music, and called of course Momentum, there is a soothing pastiche of classical overtones within this track that is so beautiful, whilst the energies of the new age genre float across the cumulus clouds of textured harmony, with such lush contributing performances within its frame as well, from the operatic styled vocals of Clara Sorace, to the sensitive tones of Daniel Sáez on cello.

I cannot state just how deeply touching this release truly is, each composition is so poignant and powerfully stirring in its arrangements, like this following narrative called Balada das ondas, a piano reverie so tender, whilst a more global fusion shaped composition could be found on the piece Pulsar, whilst the instrumental elegance of Márquez was in full flow, a remarkable performance on percussion by Javier Rabadán on percussion was something truly captivating.

The deeper waters of our musical boat ride now take us into the fluent canals of absolute musical loveliness with the piece When we leaving home, the fretless bass is once again there, but the convergence of tone between guitar, piano and duduk created a ballad so heart felt and romantic in its overall nature.

The penultimate offering from the album was with ease the most fascinating I have ever heard from the artist and called Éphémère. Now I happen to speak French, so I recognised the word as meaning, lasting for a short period of time, in fact with this slice of percussive mastery some 3 minutes and 26 seconds in total, a huge tip of the hat can also go to Iván Ruiz Machado on double bass. I have heard some great jazz performances relating to this instrument, but this one was doubly inventive, and artistically presented music for percussion and bass indeed.

Our final arrangement now takes centre stage and is called Under no flag, the acoustic guitar here was as blissful as a summers day in early June, whilst the     entire reverie created by Márquez had a slight Jazz element to its construction, one could just fill their realities full of one of the finest instrumental offerings off the release, a superb concluding creation by the artist indeed, and what a great way to end the release.

Momentum by Javier Márquez is one of the most magnificence albums I have had the pleasure to review this year, every inch of compositional creation and structure, each exquisite performance, and the delicious quality of production makes this release for me one of the best in this style, I have heard for a long while. Prepared to be moved, uplifted, calmed and enthralled, this is an album that has it all, and whilst doing so it creates for each and every listener, a sanctuary of soothing sound to willingly escape into.