Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » French Showcase at the 2023 European Jazz Conference
French Showcase at the 2023 European Jazz Conference
Courtesy Clara La Fuente
European Jazz Conference Showcases
Marseille, France
September 14-17, 2023
The showcase program of the 9th European Jazz Conference (see separate article) was inaugurated in the comfortable Auditorium of the Palais du Pharo—the main venue of the conference—by the Orchid Big Band. Born inside the musical collective Déluge and conducted by Thomas Julienne, the orchestra displayed on stage its perfect gender balance, and one could not but love them for that even before the first note.
The concert was based on original compositions by different musicians that displayed a brilliant, swinging sound reminiscent of contemporary musical composition but solidly based in the big band tradition. This was a really pleasant set by musicians seriously concerned with bringing their example of gender equality to schools and conservatories, and as such, a perfect welcome to Europe Jazz Network members, whose activities share the same concerns.
The following day the auditorium audience was impressed and moved by the set of Poetic Ways, a quintet with
Raphael Imbert
saxophone
Anne Paceo
drumsb.1984
Célia Kameni
vocalsRanging from blues, spirituals and traditional folk songs to contemporary and classic chanson, the band hails from the Pierre Barbizet Conservatory in Marseille, which has been directed by saxophonist and composer Imbert since 2019.
Inspired by the spirituality of
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Pharoah Sanders
saxophone, tenor1940 - 2022
Albert Ayler
saxophone, tenor1936 - 1970
The inclusion of texts by Baudelaire set to music by Leo Ferrè and Gabriel Fauré was especially original and unique.
Imbert's radical approach was also presented in one of the panels, and his music, beginning perhaps with Bach Coltrane (Zig Zag Territories, 2008) should be much more known outside France.
The rather misleadingly named West Hall (more like a closed corridor, with limited seating and sightlines blocked by columns) was the venue from several other showcase concerts, usually by smaller bands, beginning with the duo of
Naïssam Jalal
fluteClaude Tchamitchian
bass, acousticTchamitchian is master of his instrument, from solo projects to his tentet Grand Lousadzak and his music in the past reached "out" of what is considered conservatively the jazz tradition, including inspiration from his Armenian family roots in his memorable duo with kamanche player Gaguik Mouradian Their album Le monde est une fenêtre (émouvance, 2008) is highly recommended.
Jalal, born in Paris from Syrian parents, develops the
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
woodwinds1935 - 1977
Eric Dolphy
woodwinds1928 - 1964
With references to classical traditions from the Arabic and Indian worlds, Jalal's music at times was infused with dramatic rage and at times developed into peaceful meditation, her flute refracting a huge variety of colors and dynamics. This was worlds away from any new-agey blandness, with Tchamitchian always providing the appropriate support.
The following act was
Enzo Carniel
pianoThe quintet Papanosh, despite the very young age of the musicians, has also been a regular band for quite some time. Pianist " data-original-title="" title="">Sébastien Palis , saxophonist
Raphael Quenehen
saxophone, altoQuentin Ghomari
trumpet
Marc Ribot
guitarb.1954
Roy Nathanson
saxophoneb.1951
For this project they have taken inspiration from literature—apparently a theme that ran through many of the showcase bands in one way or the other—and in particular from the writings of novelist and poet Jim Harrison.
A lover of nature and a master of the short form, several of Harrison's stories have been successfully adapted for films, notably Wolf (Jack Nicholson) and Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt).
Rabelaisian in nature, his food-and-drink homage A Really Big Lunch (Grove Press, 2017) is a celebration of excess and a creation of legends and myths that are larger than life. The musicians of Papanosh threw themselves into the challenge of responding musically to these writings with gusto, creating an imaginary folklore from Rouen reminiscent of similar concepts explored decades ago by their predecessors in Lyon, in a different time and age.
Fresh and funny, obviously inspired initially by the lineup of Eric Dolphy and
Booker Little
trumpet1938 - 1961
Built on the collaboration of Franco-Syrian singer Climène Zarkan with guitarist Baptiste Ferrandis, the sextet exploded on stage their music—a unique combination of the classic elegance of Arabic song and poetry with the energy of a contemporary rock band.
Trombonist Robinson Khoury expertly slided his notes to match the subtlety of Arabic intonation, often joining the proceedings with vocals as well, while the guitarists and
Thibault Gomez
pianoSarāb's final number visited Sayyed Darwish's classic "Zourouni," with its powerful and poignant invocation 'Life is bitter without you, Visit me once every year.' It gave full measure of the deep roots and dramatic power of this band.
The following band was Nout, an all-female trio with the unique combination of electric harp, flute and drums, played respectively by
Rafaelle Rinaudo
harpBlanche Lafuente
drumsBack in the main auditorium, Armenian pianist " data-original-title="" title="">Yessa? Karapetian led his quintet in another impressive set embracing his Armenian roots along with the music of the African-American diaspora and the French impressionism that he studied in Paris.
The traditional, symbolic timbre of various duduk (double reed) and blul—an end-blown flute similar to Arabic nay/Turkish ney—were explored by soloists Norayr Gapoyan and Avag Margaryan. " data-original-title="" title="">Marc Karapetian on bass and
David Paycha
drumsIntegrating the piano with instruments from non-European traditions is always a tricky proposition, while the young and brilliant leader occasionally indulged a little too much in showing his chops. That said, there were some truly magical moments of perfect balance.
In the West Hall once more, bandoneon player and composer Louise Jallu presented a tribute to
Astor Piazzolla
bandoneon1921 - 1992
Karsten Hochapfel
celloThe plan was clearly to play the great Argentinian's tunes as jazz standards, avoiding the revival and treating them instead as Ellington or Gershwin tunes. This seemed entirely appropriate, as Piazzolla's roots were as much in the music of New York as in that of Buenos Aires.
Recordings of Piazzolla's own voice were used to introduce the tunes. Subtle variations in tempo, sudden openings in the harmony and reinterpretations of the melody kept nostalgia at bay, and succeeded in presenting Piazzolla not as a regional talent but as one of the great composers of the 20th-century. Courageous and original.
Singer-songwriter Marion Rampal tried to walk a difficult line between a reinvented Deep South and the classic French chanson, with elegant renditions of melancholy melodies by Bob Dylan among other composers. She was arguably more successful, however, when rendering her own evocative originals in French.
The Fringe program took place after the evening concerts in the foyer of the Thé?tre La Criée, and included Ludivine Issambour Antiloops, Obradovic—Tixier Duo, and Dowdelin.
But having fully committed to three days packed with panel discussion, speeches, lengthy discussion groups and presentations, the late-night musical program was too much for your reviewer, who pleads for mercy having chosen instead to socialize on the quay over pastis, trying to look like Fernando Rey in The French Connection.
It was very hot and sunny indeed for the end of the summer in beautiful Marseille, and the Déméter Hall of Thé?tre La Criée was filled to the rafters for the final concert of
Michel Portal
clarinet, bassb.1935
As a result, the air inside the theatre was rather stuffy and the seats were really not too comfortable to boot. Still, these discomforts were soon forgotten when the Grand Seigneur of French jazz (88 years long in the tooth) came onstage with his clarinets, and his regular band of
Bojan Z
piano
Stéphane Galland
drumsb.1969
Yazz Ahmed
trumpet
Eivind Aarset
guitarFor the duration of the concert there was a charming linguistic uneasiness on stage. This was France, and the performers were French, but the 400-plus participants of the conference were a mixed bunch using English as their lingua franca, as is customary in the jazz world.
This author has witnessed showcases in Latvia and Portugal, in Italy and in Belgium, where the musicians always spoke to an international public in English. The showcase performers in these countries had different degrees of fluency, they did what they could, and the audience appreciated their efforts, and that was it.
Only in Marseille did the situation seemed weird to many of the musicians, to the point that they had to mention their linguistic frailties and insecurities on stage.
Portal brought the issue to a new level, announcing that he was delegating the English duties to Bojan Z (who is Serbian and so has no special title to speak English more than a Frenchman). And when the pianist obliged as a sign of courtesy to the international guests, whose presence had been explained before (in French) by one of the directors of the Marseille jazz festival, part of the audience was unhappy to the point of shouting "Parlez Fran?ais!" So, we were back to square one.
Bojan Z, born in Sarajevo, has witnessed contrasts more serious than these, so took everything in his stride. He said a few words and then went back to the music. But the whole thread was significant in itself.
Portal's band is a well-honed, responsive unit, with the angular lines of the clarinets propelled by a powerful piano trio, in a apparently precarious balance that keeps the listener on the edge. Growling from the bass clarinet or tenderly etching a song on the "normal" (as he joked) clarinet Portal leads masterfully, arranging on stage the wide dynamics of the band.
The young and brilliant Ahmed contributed respectfully in the exposition of the themes, and then exploded in appropriate solos; Aarset's delicate, eerie sounds were rather lost in the mix, enriched already by Bojan Z's electric piano, so that it seemed hardly worth flying him in from Norway for the evening, a brief trio passage aside.
Portal's imagination, like his career, is boundless and his lesson still sets an example for todays musicians who could be his grandchildren.
All in all, linguistic mishaps included, this gala concert provided a fittingly festive conclusion to a remarkable edition of the Europe Jazz Conference. The 2024 EJC, it was announced earlier, will be held in Ghent, Belgium.
The 480-odd delegates left Marseille elated by the city, by the hospitality and by the music. The jury-selected concerts showcased a vibrant, young and irrepressible creativity, whose common threads seemed to be literary inspiration and a wide look to the South and to the East, from Argentina to Armenia, in keeping with today's European preoccupations.
Tags
Festivals Talking
Francesco Martinelli
France
Raphael Imbert
Pierre-Fran?ois Blanchard
Pierre Fenichel
Anne Paceo
Celia Kameni
duke ellington
John Coltrane
Pharoah Sanders
Albert Ayler
Na?ssam Jalal
Claude Tchamitchian
Gaguik Mouradian
Roland Kirk
Eric Dolphy
Enzo Carniel
Marc-Antonio Perrio
Sébastien Palis
Raphael Quenehen
Quentin Ghomari
Thibault Cellier
Jérémie Piazza
Marc Ribot
Roy Nathanson
Booker Little
Climène Zarkan
Baptiste Ferrandis
Robinson Khoury
Thibault Gomez
Rafa?lle Rinaudo
Delphine Joussein
Blanche Lafuente
Yessa? Karapetian
Norayr Gapoyan
Avag Margaryan
Marc Karapetian
David Paycha
Louise Jallu
Astor Piazzolla
Matthias Lévi
Grégoire Letouvet
Karsten Hochapfel
Arthur Hennebique
Ludivine Issambourg
Michel Portal
bojan z
Julien Herne
Stéphane Galland
Yazz Ahmed
Eivind Aarset
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.Showcase
Buy Now
Featured
Darwin AI: Surivior Choice
By Alex Otey buy
Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
By Antonio Adolfo buyGiveaway
