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Jean-Pierre Llabador — Treasure 3.33 Hunt
(Castle Records, 2025, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-03-26

Treasure 3.33 Hunt Cover art

Kind of an odd title for an album, isn’t it, until you realize that six of the eight tracks clock in at around three minutes 33 seconds, give or take a few seconds, and the longest is just shy of four. Jean-Pierre Llabador is a French jazz guitarist  and composer who was a founding member of Coïncidence in the 70s, a band that ended with his brother (guitarist and keyboardist) Jean-Claude’s death in a car crash following the release of their second long player. Since that time, Jean-Pierre has soldiered on, releasing around ten solo albums in the years since. Jean-Pierre has had his own set of challenges in recent years, narrowly surviving a car crash and some life-threatening health issues, which has robbed him of his ability to physically play the guitar, but even so he was able to compose and arrange this set of eight tracks, for which he has assembled a collection of top-shelf musicians to execute, including drummer Philippe Arnoud, bassist and percussionist Jean-Pierre Barreda, guitarist Gerard Ponsanel, and a host of others. The album is available as a ten-inch LP clocking in at around 29 minutes total. The set launches with “Roses in Rhodes,” a funky jazz-pop number sung by Tania Margarit (who also plays clavinet on this and other pieces), with backing vocals by Elea Schuhmann and multi-instrumentalist David Heroulaz. There is one more vocal piece on the album (“Betty on Franklin Avenue”), presumably at the start of side two, with the remaining six numbers being all instrumentals. Margarit acquits herself well as the piano lead on “Long Beach,” an instrumental piece with no guitars whatsoever, only bass and drums. Barreda composes the Moroccan-flavored “Ghazaouet City,” a masterpiece of eclectic world jazz that features some beautiful punchy bass riffage. “Big Deal” is a multi-tracked guitar piece played by Bernard Margarit, with a truly unforgettable melody that will get stuck in your head for days. The powerful guitar lead on “Bowlywood” is an impressive slab of jazz-rock fusion instrumental reminiscent of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin early 70s work, while “The Link” takes a funky approach that gets the job done. With all of the eight pieces at three and a half to four minutes, the songs are succinct, not a second wasted anywhere.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Jean-Pierre Llabador

More info
http://www.castle-records.fr/produit/treasure-3-33-hunt-vinyl-cd/

 

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