With such a nickname as Plume, the potential for metaphors is huge. There is a particular lightness to the saxophone of this Franco-American who came out of nowhere and released his first album at the age of 38 under the nickname Plume. Surrounded by experts Leonardo Montana on piano, Géraud Portal on double bass, and Antoine Paganotti on drums, Plume creates an almost classical but never conventional post-bop. Treading the line between the legacies of John Coltrane and Kenny Garrett, he creates a serene balance in which his playing evokes an endearing warmth from the beginning to the end of Escaping the Dark Side. The cherry upon this delightful debut is the trumpet of the great Ambrose Akinmusire on Falling Angels and Perseverance. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz