Ghost Rhythms - Missing Times Ghost Rhythms

Missing Times is the ninth full-length release by Ghost Rhythms, a truly exciting electric / eclectic jazz ensemble active in Paris since 2005 who have won numerous awards in their home country. Cool, intelligent and self-assured, they feature morphing drum grooves, catchy bass lines, expressive harmony changes, world music touches and a never-ending succession of dizzying, odd-time polyrhythms.

Ghost Rhythms’ mostly instrumental concept album Missing Times explores the phenomenon in which UFO abductees lose the memory of their strange encounters. It’s a slippery slope full of mythology, drummer Xavier Gélard points out, but not one without merit and depth. And beyond the sci-fi elements of that subject matter, there are universal themes. "We’re trying to decolonize the UFO lore from the UFO," he explains, "in order to access the human part."

The band - now a longstanding nine-piece ensemble - is based around the creative duo of Gélard and pianist Camille Petit. Together, they’ve deeply explored the interplay between interlocking rhythms and musical feel throughout their nearly 20-year run. Those themes - absence, perception, and time itself - have been guiding principles.

In that way, then, Missing Times, their ninth full-length release, is their ultimate statement, as displaced rhythmic structures weave amongst each other in the foreground. Ghost Rhythms seamlessly create sonic quilts of interweaving riffage and soaring melodies. Their sound straddles genres, wearing inspiration from modern avant-leaning influences like the Claudia Quintet or Bad Plus - both ensembles that feature jazz-associated musicians reaching toward rock, pop, and classical influences - as easily as it does vintage progressive rock ensembles Soft Machine or Magma, particularly in their propensity toward rhythmic experimentation and flexibility.

Despite the musical sophistication and adventure ... this music is extremely accessible to a wide swathe of listeners.

Guillaume Aventurin: Guitar
Julien Bigorgne: Flute
Alexis Collin: Accordion
Nadia Mejri-Chapelle: Cello
Xavier Gélard: Drums, Additional Electric Guitars, Additional Percussion
Grégory Kosovski: Bass
Morgan Lowenstein: Congas
Camille Petit: Piano, Rhodes
Maxime Thiébaut: Alto and Ténor Saxophones, Flute

with
Bertrand Aimar: Violins
Frédéric Garcia: Choir Director