PRINT REVIEWS

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Review of Proto Mundi
Highlands (Feb 2018) – in French

Review of Proto Mundi
Batteur Magazine (Dec 2017) – in French

Review of Sphère
Highlands (Oct 2016) – in French

Review of Sphère
JazzLife (Oct 2016) – in Japanse

Review of Ad Perpetuum
Modern Drummer (Apr 2015)

Review of Ad Perpetuum
DownBeat (Feb 2015)

Review of Ad Perpetuum
Drummer (Dec 2014)

Review of Ad Perpetuum
JazzLife (Dec 2014) – in Japanese

Review of Ad Perpetuum
Highlands (Dec 2014) – in French

Press clippings 2013-2015

Review of Occultus Tramitis
Classic Rock Society (Sep 2013)

Review of Occultus Tramitis
IO Pages (Sep 2013) – in Dutch

Review of Occultus Tramitis
Highlands (Jul 2013)

ONLINE REVIEWS

All About Jazz
By Glenn Astarita, January 25, 2015

Canadian bassist Antoine Fafard possesses awe-inspiring chops and can seemingly do anything he darn well pleases. Following suit with his previous solo outing Occultus Tramitis (Unicorn, 2013) he aligns his significant wares with highly revered artists, providing the level of support required, not only to pull off the tricky time signatures, but to also add various marks of distinction to these strong compositional frameworks.

Critical Jazz
By Brent Black, October 9, 2014

Antoine Fafard takes a blank musical canvas and creates textures you can hear and colors you can feel. The variety is cutting edge while never forcing one off that lyrical cliff into the valley of pretentious overkill. A superior recording across the board. More than memorable, one of the best for 2014.

Danger Dog
By Craig Hartranft, October 9, 2014

With Antoine Fafard’s third album Ad Perpetuum I found myself traveling back in time. […] The result is more of Fafard’s compositional creativity and genuis married to some crazy talented musicianship. The songs and sound are pleasing, melodic and interesting, without being overly technical. […] Simply, Antoine Fafard’s Ad Perpetuum is equally beautiful, creative, and entertaining jazz rock fusion. Recommended.

DPRP
By Owen Davies, January 29, 2015

Ad Perpetuum is an excellent instrumental jazz rock fusion album and is highly recommended for aficionados of that genre. It is complex and technically brilliant, yet it simply oozes with emotive honesty and simplicity. The music has that rare ability to convey everyday moods, whilst at the same time it has the added advantage of being able to transcend anything that might be remotely classified as ‘musically mundane’. The informative booklet that accompanies the release is truly outstanding. It contains detailed notes written by Fafard to help to explain the performance and music of each composition. I found his insightful comments invaluable and they have greatly helped to appreciate the many subtleties and nuances contained in the music.

Progressive Rock Central
By Angel Romero, October 15, 2014

If you are a fusion fan and you don’t know Antoine Fafard, you really need to check out his recordings. He is making some of the most exciting jazz-rock fusion at the moment.It’s not easy to be a skilled instrumentalist and a great composer at the same time. Antoine composes his own superb material and then invites some of the finest fusion musicians in North America to record with him, and brings out the best in them.

Shakefire
By Lee Roberts, October 15, 2014

This album is a good jazz fusion jam session that has a lot of good vibes and a lot of energy put into the songs. Each of the different instruments being played, the bass, keyboards, drums, guitar, they’re all played well and they are synched just as well that create a fun song.

Something Else Review
By Preston Frazier, October 5, 2014

I’ve been listening to Antoine Fafard’s latest release Ad Perpetuum for a while, and I keep findings pearls of amazement in each listening. My first impression was that Fafard is an excellent jazz composer. That impression was supported by all the tracks and their inventive and diverse song structures.

Sonic Abuse
By Phil Stiles, January 25, 2015

Antoine Fafard is an astonishing musician who has the added gift of being able to imbue his music with humanity and melody meaning that even the most complex piece is pulled off without tying the listener in knots Whilst there is no question that Antoine delights in challenging musical boundaries, his true success lies in the fact that he does so whilst remaining accessible, and for those who do not care for the intricacies of the playing, it is worth noting that ‘Ad Perpetuum’ is a simple pleasure to listen to.

Thunder Row 
By Elmeaux, January 1, 2015

Ad Perpetuum is a collection of distinctive numbers that weave in and out of Jazz, Prog, and full-on experimentation of technique. Time signatures that change mid-song; the application of synthetics in unexpected ways and places; smoking hot guitars, drums and sax (not to mention Fafard himself on that seriously monstrous bass) – it all serves to create this rich mosaic of tunes.

All About Jazz
by Glenn Astarita, September 10, 2013

An unanticipated surprise in the form of a new album is always welcome. And the star-studded cast of jazz, jazz fusion and progressive rock performers here is somewhat of an eye-opener… The pristine audio sound is an added ingredient that underscores a very detailed and capacious soundscape…

Critical Jazz
By Brent Black, July 5, 2013

…Progressive fusion didn’t die. Instead, progressive fusion has been hiding out in the jazz witness protection program with Antoine Fafard apparently holding the location as a closely guarded secret. Occultus Tramitis should have heads spinning in his direction in short order…

Get Ready to Rock
by Pete Feenstra, August 10, 2013

Fusion music often throws an unexpected curve ball at the humble listener, and prog fusion such as this with its musical density, ever changing time signatures and challenging improvisation sometimes pushes the envelope beyond the pale. And yet almost in spite of the manner of its making ‘Occultus Tramitis’ is an exuberant triumph…

Sonic Abuse
by Phil Stiles, June 9, 2013

Every once in a while the stars align and a wealth of great releases appear all at once, seemingly from nowhere, flooding the mind with images and colours as each artist leaves their musical impression on the listener… […] this amazing solo release from Antoine Fafard, the disturbingly brilliant bass player behind previous outing ‘Solus Operandi’ and the band Spaced Out. Of course, with so many releases appearing on the market, it seems music fans need an incentive to check out artists they may not previously have engaged with, and so, on this release, the unique hook is a roll call of musicians that reads like a who’s who of the progressive/jazz scene…

Progressive Rock Central
by Angel Romero, July 8, 2013

One of the best fusion releases of the year… It’s the second album by extraordinary bassist Antoine Fafard. He invited some of the finest musicians in the jazz-rock and fusion field to perform in Occultus Tramitis. Getting great musicians does not guarantee and equally good recording. However, in this case, the album works perfectly because Fafard is also an outstanding composer and gets the better of two worlds: superb musicianship and engaging structured pieces…

Thunder Row
by ‘Elmeaux’, September 3, 2013

Occultus Tramitis is an hour-long collection of eleven songs that gave me shivers to the bone. It’s mysterious, haunting, and flowing with atmosphere. It swings from busy to quiet in a heartbeat and never lets you off the hook. The videos available for the music add to the mood in awe-inspiring ways…