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TOC & Jean-Luc Guionnet — Quelques Idées d'un Vert Incolore Dorment Furieusement
(Circum-Disc CIDI2501, 2025, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-12-24

Quelques Idées d'un Vert Incolore Dorment Furieusement Cover art

TOC is a trio we have covered many times here at Exposé; the name stands for the surnames of each of the members: keyboardist Jérémie Ternoy, drummer and percussionist Peter Orins, and guitarist Ivann Cruz, although on one previous recording they said it meant Theory of Constraints. The name is not important, the musicians themselves are what matter, and free improvisation is their stock in trade on the twelve albums they have released since 2009, several of which are collaborations with other musicians, like the one under review here Quelques Idées d'un Vert Incolore Dorment Furieusement, where they share the spotlight with saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, a player who has featured on several dozen albums within the improvised and jazz scene in France going back to 1998, and is credited playing on at least that many more. The recording at hand is a single, albeit a 33-minute single, and what one will find here is about as free as free gets, constantly shifting in and out of pinnacles of manic chaos, friction, energy, experimentation, and raw freedom with no compromises. While one moment may be beautiful and expressive, the next may be completely nuts, raw, ragged, and brutally abrasive. This one long track was recorded live at La Malterie in Lille on March 11th 2024, and I can only imagine some customers running out of the place with their ears covered, while a dedicated few sit quietly, focused on the sound and absorbing every moment of it. I think response to this disc will be about the same — music this wild and free is probably not for everybody, or even for those who are prepared, it might not be everyday listening. It’s kind of like all four players are soloing without much regard for what the others are playing, but then again on occasion they do become aware of one another and play off of what the others are doing, and a listener can even listen to both extremes and make sense of it if they are open to it. Music of the moment. These are great players and this set is a powerful statement to their credit, but like I said, this may not be everyone’s cuppa.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): TOC (Ternoy / Cruz / Orins), Jean-Luc Guionnet, Ivann Cruz, Peter Orins, Jérémie Ternoy

More info
http://circum-disc.bandcamp.com/album/quelques-id-es-d-un-vert-incolore-dorment-furieusement

 

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