Friday, September 28, 2018

SHIJIN Announce NY City Live Appearances and New CD


SHIJIN 
Jacques Schwarz-Bart / Stéphane Galland / Malcolm Braff / Laurent David

Announce New York City Live Appearances
and New CD

New York City Live Appearances

Thursday, November 8th, 2018
8:15 PM
ShapeShifter Lab
18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Friday, November 9th, 2018
9:00 PM
Cupping Room Cafe
359 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
(212)925-2898

Saturday, November 10, 2018
8pm: Opening
Laurent DAVID « Naked Bass Solo » 
9pm: SHIJIN
Nublu 151
151 Avenue C, Manhattan, NY 10009

Four top European and American jazz artists
combine forces to create eight colorful and intriguing originals.


SHIJIN is a co-op group consisting of saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, keyboardist Malcolm Braff, bassist Laurent David, and drummer Stéphane Galland. Each of the musicians has vast experience in a variety of idioms with creative jazz being the foundation. For their self-titled recording debut, the international quartet performs eight group originals that, while open to fusion and the funkier side of jazz, are beyond any simple classification and reflect their varied musical journeys.

The opening “Smells Funny” is a menacing strut that has tenorist Schwarz-Bart and bassist David playing the theme with the support of keyboardist Braff and drummer Galland. The music soon gets heated with the soloists improvising over an infectious groove. The funky “Anemoi” is concise with Schwarz-Bart taking the lead on soprano with the electronic ensemble building up the music before fading out.

The colorful “Afro Bear” lets listeners imagine a bear having some adventures in the wilderness. The episodic piece has a catchy theme and mostly focuses on the group’s distinctive ensemble sound. “New Neighborhood” features a folkish melody that is played by Schwarz-Bart at several different tempos over the stimulating rhythms. 

While a generally laidback performance, “The Bait” finds the group infusing the number with plenty of passion. “Blitzt’s Z’Zuri?” has a hot tenor solo from Schwarz-Bart and features Braff playing complex lines on his keyboards. “Discomania” is not really disco but 1970s-style fusion with Braff taking the lead. SHIJIN concludes with “The Edgewater Hotel,” a joyful original based on a rhythmic figure played by Galland.

Each of the musicians has had impressive solo careers. Jacques Schwarz-Bart was born in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Being the son of a pair of prominent writers, he seemed headed for a career as a statesman. However at 24 Schwarz-Bart began playing the saxophone, he started studying at Berklee three years later, and he has been a busy musician ever since. Along the way he has worked with Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Danilo Perez, Ari Hoenig, Meshell Ndegeocello, D’Angelo and Chucho Valdes. As a leader he formed the Gwoka Jazz Project, blended modern jazz with ritual voodoo music in The Jazz Racine Haiti project, and collaborated with pianist Omar Sosa in The Creole Spirits.



Stéphane Galland, who is from Belgium, started playing drums when he was three. After taking lessons in classical percussion, he began playing jazz when he was 11. With his group AKA MOON, he has recorded over 20 CDs and performed worldwide. Galland has explored many different cultures in collaborations with artists from Africa, India, Asia, Turkey, Europe and America and has worked with such top jazz artists as Joe Zawinul, Joe Lovano, Toots Thielemans, Philip Catherine, Mark Turner, and Robin Eubanks. His own project LOBI explores multiple ancient musical traditions in a modern and futuristic way.

Pianist and keyboardist Malcolm Braff was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, grew up in Dakar and Switzerland, and began playing piano in public when he was just six. He has led over 20 records of his own and has performed around the world, often leading his own groups.

Bassist Laurent David from Paris started out studying classical guitar before switching to the electric bass guitar when he got involved in jazz. He has worked and recorded with the jazz trio TRIAS, guitarist Ahmad Mansour, Ibrahim Maalouf, and a variety of adventurous improvising musicians, appeared at many European jazz festivals. He is the creator and artistic director of the non-profit music label Alter Nativ recently shifted his home base to New York.

The combination of Schwarz-Bart, Galland, Braff and David results in musical magic throughout the consistently intriguing, accessible and unpredictable SHIJIN.

FRANCAIS 
Shijin est une symbolique orientale représentant les gardiens des quatre points Cardinaux. À chacun correspond un animal, une saison, une couleur, un élément, une vertu. 

Ce quartet est le point de rencontre et l’alliance de quatre entités musicales fortes, chacune apportant sonexpérience, son style et son origine culturelle. 

La basse tellurique de Laurent David, le piano phoenixien de Malcolm Braff, le saxophone atmosphérique de Jacques Schwarz-Bart et la batterie niagaresque de Stéphane Galland sont les ingrédients magiques composant cette exploration musicale et spirituelle. 

L’album a été construit par couches successives : les lignes de basse et de batterie ont d’abord été créées à Paris, les claviers ont été ajoutés à Chamonix et enfin les parties de saxophone ont été inventées et enregistrées à Boston. 

Le résultat révèle un niveau de force, de cohérence et une esthétique collective qui semblent avoir été orchestrés par le destin. 

Un vrai groupe est né, dans lequel le tout est plus grand que la somme des parties. 

DEUTSCH 
„Shijin“ ist ein orientalisches Symbol, welches die Wächter der vier Himmelsrichtungen darstellt. Jeder Wächter ist auch mit einem Tier, einer Jahreszeit, einer Farbe, einem Element und mit einer Tugend verbunden. In diesem Sinne stellt das Quartett SHIJIN einen Treffpunkt und ein Bündnis von vier kraftvollen Musikerpersönlichkeiten dar, von denen jeder seine Erfahrung, seinen originellen Stil und seine individuelle Herkunft mit einbringt: Der tellurische Bass von Laurent David, das Phoenix-artige Klavierspiel von Malcolm Braff, das kosmische Saxophon von Jacques Schwarz-Bart und das Niagara-artige Trommeln von Stéphane Galland sind die magischen Zutaten dieser musikalischen und spirituellen Erforschung. 

Die Albumaufnahmen wurden durch einen schichtartigen Kompositionsprozess durchgeführt. Zuerst erfolgten die Bass- und Schlagzeugaufnahmen in Brüssel und Paris, dann fügten sie die Klavier- und Keyboard-Parts in Chamonix hinzu und zum Schluss wurde das Saxofon in Boston aufgenommen. Das Ergebnis zeigte ein Maß an Stärke, Kohärenz und eine kollektive Ästhetik, die vom Schicksal orchestriert schien. Hiermit wurde eine Band geboren, in der das Ganze größer ist als die Summe aller Teile. 

JAPANESE 
Shijin(四神)とは、四方を司り、それぞれがある動物、季節、元素、力をあらわしている東洋の守護神たちを意味する。この四人組は、四つの強力な音楽的実体の出会いであり、協同作業である。各自が自らの経験、スタイル、出自の文化を持ち寄っているのだ。ローラン・ダヴィドの大地のようなベース、マルコム・ブラフの不死鳥を思わせるピアノ・スタイル、ジャック・シュヴァルツ=バルトの宇宙的サキソフォン、そしてステファヌ・ギャランのナイアガラ的ドラミングが、この音楽的でスピリチュアルな探検の魔術的構成要素である

録音も各地でなされている。ベースとドラムが最初にブリュッセル、パリで録音され、キーボードがシャモニーで、そして最後にサックス・パートがボストンで演奏、録音されている。その成果は、まるで運命が準備したようなパワーと調和と集団的美学の水準を示している。ひとりひとりの足し算よりさらに偉大な総体となった、本物のバンドの誕生である。 


Releases October 26, 2018 


1. SMELLS FUNNY
2. ANEMOI
3. AFRO BEAR
4. NEW NEIGHBORHOOD
5. THE BAIT
6. BLITZT'S Z'ZÜRI
7. DISCOMANIA
8. THE EDGEWATER HOTEL