Two outstanding jazz veterans of the Americas – one based in Rio, the other in New York – have come up with a simple idea: to record an album of ballads. Joyce Moreno and Kenny Werner have been friends since first meeting in 1989, and have worked together during that time on two of Joyce’s previous albums.
Poesia feels very different to the exuberance of Joyce’s last album Raiz, which was an exploration of her Brazilian musical roots. This is a collection of chamber pieces, and what work so beautifully and distinctively on it is the combination of styles - Moreno singing in the latin tradition of drama and melancholy, accompanied by Werner’s delicate, empathetic less-is-more piano.
Confusingly, Second Love Song, which they wrote together, is the opening track, and it’s one of the highlights of the album. Werner had originally penned the tune for a big band, but with Moreno’s newly-added lyrics, it sounds perfect and complete a deux.
Of course, working in a duo can also cruelly expose any vocal frailties, and here and there, for example on Jobim’s Olha Maria, Joyce sounds a little uncertain. But elsewhere it’s great to hear her take on such standards as Estate and Mad About The Boy. Werner’s piano on the former ripples and riffs, sometimes complementing and supporting the voice, sometimes providing an edgy counterpoint. He doesn’t ‘latinise’ the material, sticking instead to conventional jazz ballad stylings.
Caymmi’s Velho Piano - a new one on me - is a sweet and melodic delight; Pra Dizer Adeus (‘Just To Say Goodbye’) is a tear-jerker, darkened by Werner’s interpolated melody lines and bittersweet chords; Charlie Chaplin’s Smile (whose lyrics, by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, weren’t added until a full 18 years after the song appeared in Chaplin’s film Modern Times) is another excellent choice, perfectly in keeping with the overall mood, and the same goes for Bernstein’s Some Other Time.
Don’t expect innovation or even surprises from Poesia; it’s not that kind of album. But if you want a mellow, chilled-out listen for the early hours of the morning, this is it.
Ludere, palavra latina para os verbos brincar, jogar, expressar e também tocar, dá nome ao disco lançado pelo quarteto composto por Philippe Baden Powell (piano), Rubinho Antunes (trompete e flugelhorn), Bruno Barbosa (contrabaixo) e Daniel de Paula (bateria). O nome do álbum resume muito bem o clima do projeto, resultado do encontro dos músicos para uma série de shows. Dos palcos para o estúdio, a liberdade da invenção jazzística se faz presente nas gravações das composições de Rubinho, Philippe e Bruno. Temas que passeiam pela música brasileira e viajam por diversos universos musicais.
Son of Baden Powell and brother of the guitarist Louis Marcel Powell, Philippe Baden Powell started his piano studies at age seven in Baden-Baden, Germany. Later moving with his family to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he has been playing since he was 15 both in Brazil and abroad, with his father and brother and also in solo acts, both as a popular and classical pianist. With Louis Marcel, Powell formed the Banda Powell. In 1999, appearing at a festival promoted by the Tamariba Sushi Bar, Powell performed with Kay Lyra (Carlos Lyra's daughter), De Athayde, and Seu Jorge (former Farofa Carioca). In 2000, he opened the tribute show to Elis Regina Elis Aniversário (Merci Bar, Rio), participating in the same year in the Estácio Vanguard performance with the band Cai Dentro; in the tribute show to Vinícius de Moraes (Canecão, Rio de Janeiro); and in the show Herança Musical, with his brother, an homage to their father. ~ Alvaro Neder
Parco della Musica Records presents "The Hidden Side", the new sax player Rosario Giuliani cd. Besides Rosario Giuliani, Fabrizio Sferra on drums (Old friend of many previous projects) and two young musicians such as Alessandro Lanzoni on the piano and double bass Luca Fattorini . Featuring on two tracks: Paolo Damiani on cello and Marcella Carboni on harp. "The cd and the track title - said Giuliani - describe completely the nature of this project, different from any other previous work of mine. Its essence is in the search for a new music dimension, exploring a hidden and unknown music area and at the same time a hidden and unknown area inside me. I had to take risks, conceiving some songs without form, harmonics and precise rhythmic structures. I've been able to do all that thanks to the great openness and availability of the musicians."
Me ha llegado del siempre selectivo sello discográfico “Quadrant Records”, este precioso trabajo de Rafa Madagascar, un excelente pianista y arreglista colombiano que reside desde hace algunos años en Barcelona, ciudad donde obtuvo en 2004, el Grado Superior en el prestigioso Conservatorio del Liceo.
Pianista versátil y autodidacta, sus orígenes musicales se desarrollaron entre el latin jazz, la salsa y otros ritmos afrocaribeños. En esos ámbitos grabó casi una docena de discos entre 2000 y 2012, a su nombre unos, y como sideman otros. Y no es hasta el 2015 cuando decide reunir a un grupo de grandes músicos bajo el clarificador nombre de "Ancestral Project", y grabar este excelente disco que desde nuestra sección del “Disco del Mes” de Apòloybaco, presentamos en este mes de Marzo de 2016.
“Illumination”, que así se llama este excelente trabajo es un disco que te conquista desde la primera nota y ya no lo abandonas hasta el último segundo de los ocho temas que componen el álbum. Aún sin renunciar a sus orígenes, Illumination no es un disco de latin jazz, ni camina por los vericuetos de la llamada y a veces difusa etiqueta de la "Fusión". "Illumination", nuestro disco del mes de marzo, es jazz sin adjetivos, música moderna con mayúsculas y con originales y creativos arreglos en todos y cada uno de los ocho temas que contiene el disco, todos ellos, es muy importante precisarlo, de cosecha propia producidos por Rafa Madagascar.
El álbum está muy bien trabajado y eso se percibe desde que uno escucha las primeras notas del primer tema que lleva por título el mismo del disco: Illumination. Contribuye a ello, sin ninguna duda, el excelente elenco de músicos que forman Ancestral Project y que acompaña a Rafa Madagascar en la grabación. El soporte rítmico a cargo de Gonzalo del Val en la batería, Nico Sánchez a la guitarra y Paco Whet en el contrabajo, son claves para consolidar una propuesta musical de primerísimo nivel. A ello se le suma la lúcida sonoridad de Vicent Macian en los saxos tenor y soprano, y el virtuosismo de Erik Ibars en la percusión para que, de ese cóctel sonoro, salga un disco irreprochable, redondo, y –por usar un término latino– sabrosón.
No conocíamos de la habilidad de este pianista y arreglista colombiano, ni siquiera habíamos oído hablar de él, pero en su primer trabajo jazzístico, ha demostrado que sabe hacer bien las cosas, que conoce los ámbitos por donde se mueve el jazz contemporáneo sin necesidad de renunciar a la tradición, y que ha sido capaz de conformar un sexteto que hace música de jazz con franqueza, sentimiento, creatividad y originalidad.
“Illumination”, es en definitiva un magnifico principio de un camino que Rafa Madagascar tiene que seguir recorriendo. Lo estaremos esperando.
Rafael Arciniegas, conocido como “Rafa Madagascar”, compositor y pianista licenciado en Grado Superior con especialización en jazz y música moderna en el Conservatorio del Liceu de Barcelona. Es uno de los pianistas de salsa y latín jazz más solicitados de la escena actual en Barcelona.
Comenzó su incursión en la música a la edad de 6 años de manera autodidacta bajo la batuta de su padre. Años mas tarde ingresa al conservatorio de música su ciudad natal Bucaramanga, Colombia. A su vez toma clases particulares de armonía y piano con las profesoras Irina Sachli y Victoria Zivorova. Durante su adolescencia adquiere una fuerte experiencia como pianista y productor tocando con varios grupos de jazz, orquestas de salsa y latín jazz, así como produciendo música para spots publicitarios, radio y televisión.
Años mas tarde ingresa al Conservatorio de la Universidad de Bogotá. Además toma clases particulares de piano jazz con el maestro colombiano Joe Madrid y el cubano Rodolfo Argudín Justiz. En el año 2004 establece su residencia Barcelona donde estudia en el Aula de Música Moderna y Jazz, y posteriormente ingresa al grado superior en el Conservatorio del Liceu.
Dentro de sus profesores de piano se encuentran Jon Urrutia, Iñaki Sandoval, Stefan Karlsson y Mariano Díaz. Además ha participado en masters class con músicos internacionalmente reconocidos como Michel Camilo, Joan Albert Amargós, Gary Willis, Dave Frank, Stefan Karlsson, Llibert Fortuny, Jon Robles, Gonzalo Rubalcaba y Chucho Valdez.
Su primer disco lo graba en el 2000 en solitario, bajo el título de “Piano para el Espíritu” de su propia autoría. En el 2009 Rafa Madagascar trío, es seleccionado finalista del concurso "Audiciones" organizado por la fundación Canal Isabel II en Madrid. Así mismo es seleccionado finalista en el Concurso de jazz de Barcelona. En el 2009 publica un nuevo disco con su trío titulado "Secret Signals" (autoeditado).
Vinculado al mundo del Latín jazz, la salsa y la música latina, ha realizado giras y conciertos por Bélgica, Holanda, Túnez, Francia, Eslovaquia, Hungría, Alemania, Dinamarca, Polonia, Italia, Suiza, Turquía, Reino Unido, Líbano, México, Colombia, Venezuela, formando parte de varios proyectos como La Sonora Libre, Bloque 53, Tromboranga, Tamayo Salsa Orquesta, La Sucursal S.A., Sacái Trío, Fields Quartet, Oscar Feldman Quartet (USA), Juan Ull Quartet, Sandra Ortega Dúo, Leila Sound, Gonzalo del Val, Nico Sánchez, Oscar Neira Latín Project, entre otros. Además ha trabajado con diversos artistas en el múndo de la salsa como Tony Vega, Paquito Guzmán, Maelo Ruiz, Frankie Vasquez, Osvaldo Román, Cano Estremera, Rey Ruiz, entre otros. También ha trabajado como arreglista, pianista y compositor para La Sucursal S.A. el JD Latin Project, Tromboranga y La Sonora Libre entre otros.
Charles Mcpherson vuelve a la primera línea de la escena del jazz con “Love Walked In” , un disco donde la sabiduría de este saxofonista veterano y esencial, se hace evidente. Acompañado por un grupo de músicos de lujo que incluye a Bruce Barth al piano, Jeremy Brown al bajo y Stephen Keogh a la batería, Mcpherson propone un repertorio mayoritariamente compuesto por grandes clásicos del jazz. Lo hace desde su propia visión , con todo el peso que puede aportar a la música alguien que forma parte de la gran historia del jazz y que ha sido protagonista de alguna de sus páginas más notables.
Este disco de Tete se grabó con la sección ritmica al completo (Tete al piano, Peter Trunk al bajo y Al Heath a la bateria) que grabó el famoso disco a duo entre los tenores Ben Webster y Don Byas en la selva negra, en los estudios privados del productor de MPS y gran aficionado al jazz "Hanks Georg Brunner Schwer". Gustó tanto el acompañamiento hecho a Ben y Byas, que sin deshacer las maletas se quedaron a grabar este disco que Tete cariñosamente dedicó a su hija Nuria. La edicion es la original española de 1968. Un hermoso álbum.
Bass – Peter Trunk
Drums – Al "Tootie" Heath
Executive-Producer, Recording Supervisor – Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer
Graphics – Heinz Bahr
Liner Notes – Joachim E. Berendt, Tete Montoliu
Photography By [Back Cover] – P. Baugatz
Photography By [Cover] [Back Cover] – J. Werkmeister
Tete Montoliu y el magnífico trompetista nacido en la antigua Yugoslavia, Dusko Goykovich, grabaron este álbum fruto de un encuentro amistoso entre ambos. Incluye tres composiciones de Goikovich (una de ellas un blues canónico), dos standards y un blues percusivo, casi monkiano, de Tete Montoliu. Grabado en Barcelona, en noviembre de 1971, en plena efervescencia de la fusión Goykovich y el trío de Montoliu (con Joey Nay a la batería y Robert Langereis al bajo), dan una lección de jazz con un sencillo repertorio. Reedición presentada en formato de digipack desplegable, a modo de mini replica de vinilo, totalmente remasterizado e incluyendo un libreto de 12 páginas con textos en español, inglés, francés y alemán.
This exciting and energetic band is on the road to present their most recent album “New World”.
Its strong and unique sound has captivated the interest of the Jazz community who described them as “intriguing” or “innovative” and drew comparison to artists like “Led Bib” or “Trio VD”. From catchy rock-like riffs to more quiet and mesmerising atmospheres they cover a full spectrum of textures unveiling a vast background of musical influences and leading the listener through a very diverse and “bumpy” journey. They jumped into international recognition in 2012 with the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Doors’. Vitor Pereira was born in Porto/Portugal where he studied mainly classical music and classical guitar. His interest in Jazz took him to participate in seminars and private lessons with the likes of Pat Metheny, Jonathan Kreisberg, Gilad Hekselman or Aaron Goldberg to name a few and ultimately led him to London in 2004 in study at the “Middlesex University”. Living in London since then he is an active name in the UK and Europe playing with names like: James Allsopp, Asaf Sirkis, Josh Arcoleo, Marc Demuth, etc…
“Pereira’s music is a heady mix of immediately accessible jazz, hard-hitting rock and hints of ‘world’ music”
Based in London, this acclaimed quintet has been packing up venues all over Europe and the UK.
The history of this band goes back to 2009. Initially as a quartet they have been focusing mainly on original music, experimenting through a broad range of aesthetics as well as band members and culminating in the full grown and conceptually strong band it is today.
Despite its obvious Jazz roots, this music unveils a vast background of musical influences where energetic and catchy riffs together with hints of classical and world music create here an extremely unique and dynamic sound capable of captivating even the most reluctant listener.
They jumped into international recognition in 2012 with the release of its debut album ‘Doors’ on ‘F-IRE Presents’, which has drawn great reviews.
The Quintet’s second album “New World” is due to be released in March 2016 also on “F-IRE Presents”.
With a successful performance history and the talent of some of the most prominent and award winning musicians in the UK, this quintet is soon becoming one of the most promising contemporary jazz bands of the moment.
Au terme d’une longue parenthèse consacrée au jazz acoustique, Gaël Horellou revient à la fusion avec un album oscillant entre jazz atmosphérique et expérimentation electro-instrumentale.
Synthesis se positionne dans la continuité de l’album Explorations : un son planant et radicalement moderne, au service d’une musique sachant rester fidèle au jazz et à l’engagement esthétique et spirituel des ainés (John et Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef...).
Les machines sont utilisées pour dresser un décor multidimensionnel dans lequel évoluent les musiciens, sans pour autant que soient reniés les fondamentaux du jazz : le jeu, le rythme, l’harmonie et l’improvisation.
Au-delà du jazz, les influences présentes dans Synthesis sont très diverses, allant de la musique contemporaine (Terry Riley, Steve Reich...) au dub electro (Bill Laswell, Mad Professor...).
Enregistré live à la Rodia (Besançon), cet album a été réalisé par Dominique « Dume » Poutet aka Otisto 23.
After a long parenthesis dedicated to acoustic jazz, Gael Horellou returns to the merger with an oscillating atmospheric album between jazz and electro-instrumental experimentation. Synthesis is positioned in the continuity of the Explorations album released in 2006: it's a "hovering" and radically modern, serving a music knowing remain faithful to the aesthetic and spiritual commitment of elders (John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders Yusef Lateef...). At the crossroads between jazz and electronic music, the machines are used to prepare a multidimensional setting within which the musicians without being disowned that the fundamental elements of jazz: the game, rhythm, harmony and improvisation. Beyond jazz influences in the Synthesis are very diverse, ranging from contemporary music (Terry Riley, Steve Reich...) to dub (Bill Laswell, Mad Professor...).
Pas de mauvais œil, bel augure, je tire les osselets : ce Cap de Bonne Espérance fait face au pôle kiff de mon jazz. Fils d'Elegua plus que de Chango, Florian Pellissier et ses hommes se font passeurs. Musiques, continents, émotions, voyages... Il faut voyager loin en aimant sa maison, le pianiste nous le rappelle sans chipote ni monceaux sur le métissage, l'aventure, le crossover, la fusion. Toutes ces conneries.
La maison du quintet : le jazz en ligne directe depuis les années 50 et 60, entre hard et post bop, de Sonny Clark à Miles, un peu de cool (le piano brubeckien de Pellissier sur « The Hipster » emprunté à Harold McNair), le tout passé dans le brouet d'une itinérance sensible et savante sur toutes les rives de l'Atlantique ; mâtinant d'imprévisible ce registre qu'intempestif on pourrait croire trop classique là où il est avant tout personnel, sensible. A croire que les biches ne peuvent être bleues qu'en itinérance ; Cuba, Afrique du Sud, Méditerranée, France, Etats-Unis. Jeu de pistes autant que de masques.
Cap de Bonne Espérance confirme ainsi tout ce qu'on a pu dire en bien du pianiste – ici comme ailleurs – et de ses démarches en leader - bien aidé par un un quintet au poil, ce qui n'étonnera guère les connaisseurs : Yoni Zelnik et son drive omniscient à la basse, David Georgelet derrière les fûts, Yoann Loustalot à la trompette, Christophe Panzani au sax. L'album déroule arrangements de gandins (« The Hipster » à nouveau) et compositions de moult mirobole, dont l'étonnant silence de « La Forêt des Biches Bleues », logorrhée aphasique d'une grande profondeur. Enfin juste le début : la suite folâtre ensuite vers des horizons plus swing et modaux, et s'avère le coup de maître de cet album qui dans l'ensemble convainc et ravit mais ne surprend que marginalement. Plus avec ces biches sylvestres qu'ailleurs, qui font émerger du néant une lente élaboration qu'on sent très écrite pour s'achever dans des dialogues presque orchestraux du quintet, éludés par un joli final arpèges du piano contre rythmique bancroche de Georgelet. Beau. Bi. Bu.
La surprise... C'est bien. Est-ce nécessaire ? Qui sait... On la retrouvera d'ailleurs dans les riffs teintés de funk (« Les Masques Africains »), l'intervention de la voix soul de Leron Thomas sur le conclusif et retro « What a Difference a Day Makes », l'alternance entre des idiomes hard-bop (« Cantopa Elegua », cubop que n'aurait pas renié Kenny Dorham) et jazz de chambre (« Almeria »). Dans ces choix sincères mais déjà observés de-ci de-là dans d'autres agencements, Florian Pellissier et ses hommes se distinguent par une musicalité irréprochable, en premier lieu le pianiste lui-même, entre block chords bien sentis et soli ébahi de mélodie sans lyrisme outrageant. L'esprit d'Elegua l'accompagne. Celui d'Obatala couve certainement la musique d'un autre membre du quintet : Yoann Loustalot, dont on a déjà loué les qualités de trompettiste et ici commis aux états de grâce enregistrés. On lui transmets des bisous, toute notre affection, en louant sa science et sa sagesse. Et non pas que les trois autres membres fussent nuls, nous concluons là cette chronique en vous incitant vivement à jeter une oreille attentive à ce pianiste si atypique, chevaucheur impénitent de biches bleues gyrovagues.
Kenny Barron, the 72-year-old Philadelphia-born virtuoso, is the kind of jazz pianist whose resources are familiar and much-covered by mainstream swing players, but whose joyfully extravagant execution is a rarity today. That quality transforms this trio set from being a canter through a smooth-jazzy assortment of soft ballads, Latin smoochers and glossy swing. Barron has absorbed an encyclopaedia of jazz methods from a life on the road with legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Getz, and it pours out in these tracks. Magic Dance, with its glistening chords and Latin-jazz tick, sounds smooth at first but unleashes an impulsive torrent. Ballads such as In the Slow Lane display his impeccably light touch and Thelonious Monk’s Shuffle Boil isn’t Monkishly lateral but swings furiously. The jangling Lunacy is a collective bustle prodded by bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, while Nightfall is delicate drift through slow chords. There might be too many notes for some on this record, but it’s almost all affectingly musical just the same.
If you have been vaguely wondering what happened to wholehearted, outgoing jazz piano in the grand manner, just listen to this album’s opening track, Magic Dance. It has everything – attractive melody, unbuttoned swing, virtuosity and enough rhythmic sleight-of-hand to keep you wide awake. Among the dozen or so most admired pianists in jazz today, Kenny Barron strikes me as the one who wears his mastery most comfortably. From a languid piece such as Dreams, to Thelonious Monk’s fiendishly tricky Shuffle-Boil, there’s a gentle firmness to his playing. In some mysterious way he makes the piano sound bigger too. Bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake follow every move with seamless subtlety.
Amorandom is the new major international release from Finnish pianist and composer, Aki Rissanen, described as a ‘rising star around Europe’ by Downbeat Magazine in 2015.
‘Aki is a tremendously musical, passionate and soulful person and has a high energy level. He is one of the best young pianists I have heard in years’. DAVE LIEBMAN
‘A melodic imagination and instinct to bend the familiar into unfamiliar shapes’. GUARDIAN
Over the last few years Aki has quietly been building a name in the international jazz world both as a leader and as a sideman. With Amorandom, he delivers his most authoritative work to date. There's a fluidity in his playing and a boldness in his composing that deserves widespread praise and real recognition for one of the finest young European pianists. Described by Downbeat as a ‘rising star around Europe, Amorandom is the work that will introduce Aki Rissanen’s startling new talent to a global audience.
Many of today's jazz musicians are renaissance men. We have vast knowledge of the history and craftsmanship of several genres of music. Technology has indeed made it possible to explore music on the internet at a very fast pace. We seem to have “everything” at our finger tips. Maybe this is our way to keep up with today’s intense lifestyle, but this has often made me wonder, why cannot I focus on anything? Especially in a small country like Finland, I've found myself playing all kind of things, from mainstream to avant-garde and almost everything in between. I've faced the problem that many other artists have encountered too, how to concentrate on one's own music while still being involved in many projects and styles? Nevertheless, as demanding it has been, I've always liked the beautiful anxiety of being an artist and not knowing what is going to happen next!
For me, the piano trio has not been the dearest musical set-up. Although it offers lots of liberty and chances to use the piano's full capabilities in communication with the other musicians, I've always felt that there are too many good trios around and everything has been done before. It took guts to make a trio album. Fortunately, my fellow musicians here came to help me at the perfect time. The trio was really born under the lucky stars! The readiness of these musicians is fascinating and there is no real need for verbalizing anything, neither in studio nor on stage. People ask me if there are any other players in Finland because those two seem to be everywhere. The answer is yes, but there is only one Antti and one Teppo!
The music on this album is based on an animation movie to which I composed a sound track few years ago. Although the original music has gone through many stages of transformation, you can still hear a cinematic flavor in it. I also felt mature enough not to hide my musical influences which are pretty evident, but at the same time I feel that my own voice is more present than ever before. In a way, I have needed to step a bit back in time to be able to side-slip from what I have been to who I am now (and maybe will be in the future).
I want to thank Antti and Teppo once again for their incredible musicianship, my sound engineer Mikko Raita, who has given lots of support at various stages of this album, my mastering engineer Svante Forsbäck, who made the music sound like silk, Tuula Leinonen and Markus Partanen for inviting me to score the movie, the artistic director of Koko Jazz Club in Helsinki, Timo Hirvonen, who has provided a spot for musically developing the trio to this point, and of course Dave Stapleton from Edition Records for his trust and the most pleasant beginning of a collaboration! And last but definitely not least, I owe my deepest gratitude to Nathalie who has always believed in me.
Aki Rissanen (2015)
AKI RISSANEN piano
ANTTI LÖTJÖNEN bass
TEPPO MÄKYNEN drums
1. Pulsar 08:43
2. For Rainbows 04:41
3. Paysages pas sages 06:17
4. Aleatoric 06:04
5. Signettes 04:48
6. For Jimmy Giuffre 05:02
7. Eye-opener 01:36
8. Bird Vision 05:05
9. Amorandom 07:49
All music composed by Aki Rissanen and arranged by the trio.
Produced by Aki Rissanen.
Recorded at Kallio-Kuninkala Studios, Järvenpää, Finland on June 29 & 30th 2015 by Mikko Raita.
Mixed at Studio Kekkonen, Helsinki, Finland on December 14 & 16th 2015 by Mikko Raita.
Mastered at Chartmakers West, Espoo, Finland on December 21th 2015 by Svante Forsbäck.
Il était comme une éponge Louis Moreau Gottschalk avec sa facilité à s’imprégner des couleurs des musiques natives des nombreux pays qu’il a visités en un temps où on n’imaginait pas qu’on en viendrait un jour à parler de jazz ou de musiques du monde. Il ne s’installait pas dans une posture de musicologue à l’écoute des folklores, non, les musiques qu’il entendait, il les adoptait.
Et c’est vraiment une chouette idée que le pianiste d’origine bulgare Mario Stantchev et le saxophoniste Lionel Martin fassent une relecture gourmande des compositions de celui qui fut un personnage haut en couleur, séducteur impénitent et grand voyageur devant l’éternel, né à La Nouvelle Orléans en 1829 d’un père anglais et d’une mère créole originaire de l’Ile de Saint Domingue ( aujourd’hui Haïti) et décédé à Rio de Janeiro en 1869 après avoir étudié en France, sillonné de long en large les Etats Unis et avoir donné un nombre incalculable de concerts dans toute l’Amérique Latine, de Cuba au Chili en passant par l’Argentine et le Pérou. Soit un parcours musical initié avec la musique romantique pour piano d’un Chopin pour s’épanouir dans les prémisses des musiques pimentées des Amériques qui donneront naissance à la habanera, au tango brasileiro, au choro et au jazz.
Soulignons la qualité du travail éditorial réalisé par Cristal Records ainsi que celle du texte de présentation rédigé par Jean-Noël Régnier et Danièle Stantcheva. Sous leurs plumes, il en ressort quedans ses œuvres aux accents multiples, Gottschalk sert avec un égal bonheur chaque culture et que les titres qu’il choisit ont une terminologie évocatrice et un ton « colonial » désuet qui reflète son métissage culturel : « Bamboula », « Danse de Nègres », « Le Banjo », « La Savane », « Danse des Gibaros », « Les Yeux créoles », « Yankee Doodle Variations ». En complément, dans des notules bienvenues, le pianiste Mario Stantchev précise que son approche esthétique et celle de Lionel Martin se nourrit aussi bien de la musique de créateurs comme Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor et Archie Shepp que de piano stride et de romantisme caribéen. Tout est dit des climats, des jeux de l’esprit autour des thèmes simples et des variations virtuoses, de la force suggestive qui court d’un blues archaïque à des harmonies dissonantes.
C’est en découvrant , dans des anthologies concoctées par Bruno Blum pour les Editions Frémeaux, (1) des versions données en 1956 par le pianiste américain Eugene List de « La savane » et « Bamboula ( danse des nègres) » qu’il m’avait été enfin possible de mettre un son sur le nom du compositeur Gottschalk et d’apprendre que « La Bamboula » était le nom d’une danse populaire aux Caraïbes qui se perpétuera jusqu’aux années 1950, et qu’elle contenait le même rythme que le « Baboule » qui est issu du vaudou haïtien. Gottschalk l’aurait entendue en 1845 à Congo Square, à La Nouvelle Orléans. A la question de la plus-value du disque de Mario Stantchev et de Lionel Martin, la réponse est simple : la musique de Gottschalk s’éloigne de l’archaïsme colonial pour se vêtir d’oripeaux d’aujourd’hui sans que cela apparaisse incongru. Comme un supplément d’âme.
