Sunbird

On paper, it’s hard to imagine this works: 23-year-old bandleader Coll brings together musicians from disparate backgrounds that cover Moroccan Gnawa music, Polish folk, world jazz and folk from Ibiza. But it does. Sunbird is a vibrant fusion that does well to show off the talents of each member: marimba player Coll from Ibiza, Moroccan multi-instrumentalist Majid Bekkas, Polish violinist Mateusz Smoczyński and Spanish percussionist Ramón López. The seven tracks are predominantly a mix of traditional pieces from Morocco or Ibiza, though there are two originals. Throughout, each member gets to show off their chops – from Coll’s breakneck marimba playing, Bekkas’ entrancing gimbri, kalimba and vocals or Smoczyński’s high-flying violin. It all makes for a fine jazz album, though perhaps the closing ‘The Sun Shines Now’, which sounds like a world jazz version of Enya’s ‘Orinoco Flow’, could have been left on the cutting room floor.