Miroslav Vitous: The Unhurried Conversation

Miroslav Vitous’s ‘Mountain Call’ arrives as a document of profound patience. Seven years in its assembly, the album captures a trio of master improvisers—Vitous on double bass, the late Jack DeJohnette on drums, and the late Michel Portal on bass clarinet and soprano saxophone—in a state of unhurried reflection. The record feels less like a planned session and more like the careful transcription of a long, evolving conversation, one shaped by Vitous’s lifelong duality as a jazz improviser and a composer with classical European sensibilities.

Vitous’s compositional approach here is architectural, building spaces for interaction rather than dictating paths. His bass is rarely a mere timekeeper; it is a lead voice, a resonant foundation, and a melodic counterpoint all at once. On the opening “Opera,” his arco work sings with a cello-like lyricism, weaving around Portal’s breathy, woody bass clarinet lines. DeJohnette’s accompaniment is a masterclass in responsive touch, using mallets and brushes to color the edges of the sound rather than drive its pulse. The music breathes with the spacious, airy production characteristic of ECM, but the emotional weight is substantial and intimate.

The trio’s interplay operates on a level of deep, almost telepathic listening. “Blue Mountain” showcases this beautifully, with Vitous plucking a folk-tinged, repeating figure. Portal’s soprano saxophone enters not with a blast but a whisper, tracing delicate variations on the theme, while DeJohnette’s cymbal work shimmers like distant light on water. There is no rush to a climax, only a sustained exploration of texture and mood. This is not the fiery, electric-charged fusion of Weather Report’s ascent, from which Vitous famously diverged. This is its aesthetic opposite: acoustic, contemplative, and governed by a collective sense of restraint.

Standout pieces like “Pilgrimage” and the title track “Mountain Call” solidify the album’s core strength. They are less songs than sonic environments. Vitous’s classical influence is clearest here, in the through-composed feeling of the melodies and the formal elegance of the developments. Portal, a legend of European free improvisation, channels that energy into a focused, poignant lyricism, while DeJohnette’s drumming remains endlessly melodic, every stroke placed with intention.

‘Mountain Call’ is a quiet, demanding, and ultimately rewarding listen. It forgoes immediate hooks for gradual immersion. In doing so, it becomes a fitting tribute to the artistry of all three participants, particularly DeJohnette and Portal, whose recent passings lend these recordings a valedictory gravity. The album stands as a testament to a different kind of virtuosity—one measured not in notes per second, but in the depth of silence between them, and the wisdom required to shape that silence into meaningful sound.