Veteran jazz composer Carl Clements commands your attention with his latest project, “Retrospective,” a jazz quartet that showcases the wealth of experience he’s amassed over the years. With Retrospective, recorded with the Real Jazz Trio, Clements turns his experienced ear toward both reflection and reinvention, offering an album that bridges tradition and exploration in subtly compelling ways.
Boston-based but internationally active, Clements’s musical life spans decades of saxophone mastery, world music study, and original composition. A Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and a lifetime of study with luminaries across jazz and Hindustani classical music lay the foundation for an approach that comfortably treads between modal jazz, post-bop, world fusion, and improvised music. His earlier quartet album A Different Light, released on Greydisc in 2024, exemplified this; folding North Indian bansuri and Asian melodic inflections into modern jazz frameworks with admirable fluency.
Like his previous works, Retrospective stays rooted in modern jazz but leans into the acoustic interplay of a classic trio setting; saxophones and flute up front, supported by piano, bass, and drums. This ensemble format is a natural evolution of Clements’s prior quartet work, but the trio framework l brings a more integrated group voice, where each player anchors and propels collective improvisation.
The album opens with “One for Joe,” a lively piece where Clements’ virtuosic saxophone playing takes the forefront. The call and response between him, Johannes Schaedlich on bass, and Jean-Yves Jung on piano keeps the single fresh, and the album opener passes through like a breeze.
The lengthier “Mobius” proceeds with gravitas, taking a weightier and more measured approach. The wind instruments are more melodic and song-like in this track, with Jens Biehl on drums being responsible for driving it forward.
But the standout track is the closer, “Kadam,” which showcases Clements’ North Indian flute training. The flute takes the spotlight and weaves together the accompaniments into a harmonious melody that combines jazz and Hindustani classical music to create something more than the sum of its two parts.
The production on every track is immaculately done, with enough polish to enhance the listening experience without sounding overdone. The placement of the drums in the mix is especially smart as it never overpowers the melodic lines, but still sounds crisp and powerful.
Retrospective may not be a nostalgia piece in the conventional sense, but its title feels apt: the album distills Carl Clements’s artistic identity into a dynamic trio setting that honors his past while embracing fresh sonic possibilities. Fans of modern jazz with world-inflected melodies, and masterful saxophone storytelling will find much to savor here.