Deer Project: Stop the Time

Deer Project is the name of a easy-listening jazz group helmed by the duo of Maciej Jeleniewski (of Oczi Cziorne fame) and Piotr Remiszewski. Like the quasi-spiritual sleeve art of the duo's debut LP Stop the Time, the music here aims at wringing the mystical out of jazz performance, an art that's much easier said than done, even when the musicians are as proficient as the ones playing on this LP. And while there are some hooky grooves and melodies on this album, on the whole Deer Project doesn't do much than lay out functional, mildly entertaining jams that purvey in an atmosphere that while not quite fully elevator jazz, comes damn near close. The prevalence of pad synths here—apart from being unnecessary most of the time—muddles some of the force and energy that could have been present. Spirituality, one of the crucial facets of the best jazz, is something lacking in the music of this band. While much of Stop the Time sounds like potential background music to a Zen meditation session, it lacks the punch that the best kind of jazz music has. Instrumentally, this is several notches above background noise, but in the business of moving the soul, it does little to elate.

Track Listing

1. Thoughts Moving
2. Lost Evening
3. Fountime
4. The View from the Window
5. San Francisco Come Back
6. No One Has It Like Professor
7. Between the Time
8. God Bless You Madman
9. Violet Brainwashed
10. Empty Chair
11. Sophie Sticated

Added: June 1st 2013
Reviewer: Brice Ezell
Score:
Hits: 2314
Language: english

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