In the continuity of the two previous albums "Amir" and "Varech", Henri Texier records in 1979 the album : "A Cordes et à Cris" but with some guest for some titles musicians such as pianist Gordon Beck and violinist Didier Lockwood. While A Cordes et à Cris represents the third element in the trilogy of albums begun by Amir and Varech, it is was his first working with JMS, making it all that much more noteworthy as it reemerges in the imprint’s hands today. Recorded and released in 1979, it encounters the legendary bassist at the top of his game - evolving and pushing into the future with one eye on countless global traditions of the past. Like all of Texier’s solo efforts from this era, it is a stunning tapestry of musical hybridism, taking on equal influences from jazz, ambient and new age musics, minimalism, and the avant-garde, spliced with elements of Celtic, North African, Indian, and Middle Eastern musics. The result, emerging from deft hands, is unlike anything else.

A Cordes et à Cris does stand slightly apart from its predecessors - more diverse in its scope, and, at times more introspective, while others more outwardly exuberant and playful. Joined by a cast of contributing figures - the pianist Gordon Beck, Guitarist  Aldo Romano, Cellist Jean Charles Capon, and Violinist Didier Lockwood, its pallet and voice is greatly expanded from the album’s two predecessors, while never losing sight of Texier’s signature combination of chanting vocals and metronomic bass rhythms - each instruments given its own distinct role.  

Intricate subtle, and often overlooked at great cost, A Cordes et à Cris is an essential piece in the puzzle of French 1970s music, and even more so in body of output of one of its most important contributors. It’s a slow burn, but its unquestionably one to get. We can’t say how happy we are to have this one in our hand, brought back by the label which first brought it to light. Grab it before it disappears again for another 40 years!

Killer.