image courtesy of Rock Rose Music PR

Album Review of Jean-Pierre Llabador: 3’33 Treasure Hunt (Castle Records)

Jean-Pierre Llabador is a legendary 1970s French jazz guitarist. His newest release, 3’33 Treasure Hunt, is a collection of eight 3 minute 33 second tracks. (With that being said, though the album lists the songs as 3’33”, the tracks seem to clock in up to 20 seconds longer or shorter for me, but I ain’t complainin’.) Unable to play guitar himself of the album, Llabador is joined on this record by an esteemed collection of musical colleagues, with Llabador composing the music and producing the contributing musicians.

Jean-Pierre Llabador; photo courtesy of Rock Rose Music PR

3’33 Treasure Hunt is a cool amalgam of styles, incorporating a jazz style with bluesy or rockin’ riffs, as appropriate. It’s an enjoyable beginning-to-end listen, a collection of stylistically-varying compositions that clock in at just under 30 minutes in their entirety.

One of my favorites is the very first song, “Roses in Rhodes,” one of just two songs on the 8-track disc that contains vocals. It kicks the record off coolly, with a bit of a funky rhythm, and incorporates the smoky-smooth vocals of Tania Margarit. It’s followed by the twangily alien-sounding “Bowlywood,” led by guitarwork from Pascal Corriu. Gerard Pansanel’s guitarwork on “The Link,” meanwhile, provides that song’s signature recurring hook, while the guitar noodling throughout much of the rest of the track gives the song a pleasantly meandering vibe.

“Long Beach” is probably my second-favorite entry on the record, behind “Roses in Rhodes.” On it, the flowing pianowork of Tania Margarit is accompanied by steady, supportive musicianship from the rhythm section of Jean-Pierre Barrera (bass) and Philippe Arnaud (drums), delivering a laid-back coffeehouse jazz vibe.

top row, left to right: Elea Schuhmann, Pascal Corriu, Jean-Pierre Barreda; bottom row, left to right: Philippe Arnaud, Tania Margarit, Bernard Margarit; photos courtesy of Rock Rose Music PR

Kicking off the second half of the record, Elea Schuhmann’s vocals are key to the soaring blues-jazz style on the record’s other vocal-driven number, “Betty on Franklin Avenue. “Big Deal,” next, a guitar number from guitarist Bernard Margarit, could easily be the soundbed of a soft pop-rock hit.

It’s followed by a completely different sound on “Ghazaouet City,” the one song on the record that could most easily fall into the “world music” category, with a unique eastern music-inspired rhythm throughout, though it periodically gives way to the sort of groovy sixties-esque jazz that you might expect from an early James Bond movie soundtrack, as well. It’s quite an ear-surprising amalgam that’s sure to hold your interest for the entire 3’33”.

The record closes with “Blast,” which blends a soft background with intrusive foreground riffs, with guitarists Corriu and Pansanel lending their skills to the effort, resulting in the sort of jazz number that leaves you not relaxed but, rather, edgy.

In all, 3’33 Treasure Hunt is an interesting, varied disc that showcases Llabador’s composing talent with the help of a collection of top-shelf jazz musicians. If that’s your vibe, you may very well find this to be a groovy assemblage of songs that fits niftily into your music collection.