For “Floating”, Emile Parisien invited three musicians for whom he has a huge admiration –  who also happen to be long-standing friends: pianist Yaron Herman, bassist Linda May Han Oh and tabla player Prabhu Edouard. The band first came together as part of a carte blanche which the Cité Internationale in Paris offered the saxophonist to mark the conclusion of a two-year residency. This concert had been intended to be a simple encounter, a ‘one-off’. It took place during a very turbulent, intense and restless phase of his life, sandwiched between countless projects, a seemingly never-ending stream of concerts, sessions, commitments and conflicts. He knew he wanted to take a step back, to let things settle and open up a new space, to actively seek out a state of limbo. What mattered to him at the outset was not a fixed concept, but rather the desire to bring together musicians whom he particularly values for their sound, their personality and their uniqueness.

Pianist Yaron Herman was an extremely natural choice. He and Parisien have been playing together for two decades, yet were simultaneously so deeply immersed in their own projects that musical encounters had become rare. Herman’s album “Alter Ego” was the first recording on ACT to  feature Emile Parisien, so the saxophonist’s reciprocal invitation to appear on “Floating” closes a loop after many years. “When Yaron plays, he immerses himself one hundred percent in the music, just like me,” says Parisien. “And we share a way of playing melodically whilst remaining free – that was particularly important to me for this recording.”

Emile Parisien had also long wanted to work with tabla player Prabhu Edouard again – particularly because of his ability to fit into a wide variety of musical contexts and open up new horizons. “Prabhu really makes our music take off,” says Parisien. “His musical intelligence and the lightness and agility he has on his instrument enable him to break through all boundaries.”

For Emile Parisien, bassist Linda May Han Oh is the unifying element of “Floating”: “Linda has so many possibilities. She’s a fantastic double bassist with a limitless technique, but she only ever uses what the music really needs. Linda is such a force; she grounds and unites the many components of this music.”

“At the end of that magnificent first concert, we immediately realised that we couldn’t just let the story end there.” Just under a year and only two further concerts later, the band went into the studio to record tracks by Emile Parisien, Yaron Herman and Linda May Han Oh, as well as two compositions by other artists, all of them intent on preserving the freshness of that first encounter. To record the album in just two days was, according to Parisien, “a gamble”, but at the same time it was the best way to give free rein to spontaneity, listening and improvisation. The result is chamber music that defies all categories: intimate, open and deeply imbued with lyricism.

For Emile Parisien, “Floating” is a statement of the utmost sincerity and a “soft reset”: “I opened myself up completely to this music during a really difficult time. I believe that gentleness is the best way we can approach conflicts.” This is music in which one can absolutely feel the power of musicians listening to one another and communicating together. More than that, it emphasises how vital it is to give space to other perspectives in order to create something together that is greater than the sum of its parts. One might say: this is music which the world needs.