French Composer/Trumpeter Yohan Giaume Presents Whisper of a Shadow Opus 1, a Sonic Celebration that Traces the Musical Lineage Between Europe, Africa and America Through the Eyes of Romantic Composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Whisper of a Shadow is a Cross Cultural Project Featuring Evan Christopher, Herlin Riley, Nicholas Payton, Roland Guerin, Aaron Diehl, and More
Giaume explains, “By exploring these cultures from inside, traveling back and forth to different countries seeking the roots of the music, I started to discover pieces of the puzzle of the musical family tree and the links that interconnect the various cultures. Music is like a tree, everything is connected, every musical line or rhythm you play is the shadow of something that came from somewhere and it is fascinating to me to see how cultural heritage continues to exist after centuries of geographical transformations. It shows how music is powerful, essential in a society, and how vital it is to have continuum from the past to present time.” Giaume began in Cuba and South America, but it was New Orleans that left him rapt. “I had a strong feeling of recognizing a part of myself in that culture and city.” He also made an unexpected discovery during his journeys to the Crescent City: Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the Louisiana romantic Creole composer and pianist, had taken almost the same route in his travels as Giaume did two centuries apart. During Gottschalk’s time, he was one of the first, if not the first, American composer to inspirationally embrace Afro-Creole music. Gottschalk was heavily inspired by Afro-creole folk songs that his Haitian nanny sang to him when he was child.
Giaume discovered a song that Gottschalk never used in his compositions, although it was very familiar to him, he reimagined it as his own arrangement, sublimated by Christopher’s interpretation. In New Orleans the melody of “Lisette Quitté la Plaine,” once a very popular tune, was labeled as an Afro-creole song, but in his research Giaume discovered that the melody was originally part of the melodic repertoire used in operettas vaudevilles in France during the 18th century and the lyrics were a creole parody of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s opera “Le Devin du Village.” In his composition “Lez African E La” Giaume was inspired as well by another old afro-creole folk melody “Quan Patate La Cuite“ that Gottschalk used for his famous piece named “Bamboula”. In this track, Yohan pays a special homage to the enslaved that gathered on Sunday afternoon in Congo Square at Gottschalk’s era.
Another example of Giaume’s compositional process is what he did with the melody of Gottschalk’s piece titled “Morte!! (She is dead).” “One of my most powerful experiences was to attend Snooks Eaglin’s funeral in the streets of New Orleans. It is the first time I saw a funeral that celebrates a life and life, in general, with such beauty,” explains Giaume. “I was moved by the emotional strength and grace of this experience where the procession is accompanied by a riveting and soulful music. Gottschalk’s melodic lamentation sounds like a hymn and it moved me by its grace and its simplicity. That melody walked with me and infused the whole development of my composition called “Life Circle” inspired by the jazz funeral procession.”
Whisper of a Shadow in summary is much more than a musical album. It is an artistic invitation to slow down, step back from our time, enter into a journey through times and spaces, and celebrate what a multicultural experience can offer. Giaume concludes, “I found my roots through my journey in the culture of others which were entwined with so many others. We all have a shared commonality even if nothing suggests it; but to discover it, one must go out of one’s own comfort zone to explore it.”
1. Le Poète Mourant 06:49
2. Mascarade 04:48
3. Lisette 05:44
4. Cold Facts 02:54
5. The Promise of Dawn 06:12
6. Bamboula Dreams Part 1 02:01
7. Bamboula Dreams Part 2 01:53
8. Lez African E La 06:12
9. Life Circle Part 1 - Death 07:01
10. The Passage 01:20
11. Life Circle Part 2 - Birth 04:30
Yohan Giaume (Compositions / Arrangements / Musical Director / Trumpet)
Evan Christopher (Clarinet / Collaborating partner)
Aaron Diehl (Piano)
Herlin Riley (Drums)
Roland Guerin (Bass)
Tristan Liehr (Violin)
Louis-Jean Perreau (Violin)
Emmanuel Francois (Viola)
Thomas Ravez (Cello)
Additional musicians:
Nicholas Payton (Trumpet on tracks 5, 9, 11)
Terrance Taplin (Trombone on tracks 9, 11)
Greg Hicks (Trombone on tracks 9, 11)
Matt Perrine (Tuba on tracks 9, 11)
Chuck Perkins (Spoken word / poetry and lyrics on tracks 2, 4, 6, 10, 11)
Nell Simmons, Kid Merv, Troy Sawyer, Casme Barnes, James Germain (Choir on tracks 8, 11)
Philippe Makaïa (Vocal and Percussions on track 8)
Bago Balthazar (Percussions on track 8)
Bruce Sunpie Barnes (Lyrics on track 8)
Recorded at Esplanade Studio in New Orleans
by Misha Kachkachishvili assisted by Jesse Snider
Recorded at Sextan Studio in Paris
by Vincent Mahey assisted by Arthur Gouret.
Mixed by Steve Reynolds
Mastered by Gene Paul and Joel Kerr at G&J Audio, Union City, NJ
Artwork by Guillaume Saix
Nicholas Payton appears courtesy of Paytone Records.
Executif production by Yohan Giaume.
Produced by Life Celebration Project.
