Czech double bass virtuoso Miroslav Vitous, a founding member of Weather Report, releases Mountain Call, a seven-year project reflecting his classical and jazz immersion. The album features the late Jack DeJohnette and Michel Portal, among others.
Eight duo tracks for Vitous and Portal are highlights, showcasing the clarinettist's graceful swoops and challenging curiosity against Vitous's turbulent bass. Portal, who died in February, segues from mellow lyricism to staccato punctuation.
DeJohnette's hustling drumming on Fulfillment, with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and Esperanza Spalding's vocals on the Rhapsody suite also stand out. Spalding glides between lyrical care and wordless sounds, with saxophonist Gary Campbell.
Mountain Call is a personal contemporary music chronicle from an unflinching one-off, balancing spontaneity, nuance and cinematic atmospherics.
