Laborie Jazz

Deep Rivers was originally born on stage, during the celebrations of the centenary of the arrival of jazz in Europe in 1918. The project eventually became an album, which Paul Lay anchored in a vast and eclectic repertoire of music, starting at the end of the 19th century and running all the way until the 20th century. Ragtime, American Civil War, slaves & plantations, the roaring 20s, from Broadway to Tin Pan Alley, from Scott Joplin to Nina Simone, all these different names and time periods, all these different heritages all come together and intersect on this project, creating a magnificent whole thanks to the talent of the arrangement by the Southern French musician. With the voice of Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu on the double bass, Paul Lay resurrects these themes of the past to construct a distinctly contemporary narrative. Along with the piano, the double bass and vocals, he adds according to each track: drums from Donald Kontomanou, trombone from Bastien Ballaz, trumpet from Quentin Ghomari and alto saxophone from Benjamin Dousteyssier. Listening to Deep Rivers is like rifling through a thick, richly illustrated history book. Thick but not dusty, however. A truly original way of presenting music which only goes to confirm Paul Lay’s multifaceted talent. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Every album by Anne Paceo is surprising. And each one of her projects is stunning. She’s always where we don't expect her to be. It would be too simplistic to simply label her as a "jazz drummer". With her, the genres have never been so beautifully fluid. Everything inspires her, motivates her, nourishes her. Jazz, of course, is one source of inspiration, but there’s also pop, song, electronic music, world music and blues. "I’ve never liked the boundaries between musical styles," she insists. “It was the record industry that invented those boxes, but music goes beyond that. The important thing is that it speaks to the heart and soul to awaken our emotions, takes us on a journey and inspires us..." With Ann Shirley and Florent Mateo’s voices and her faithful accomplices Pierre Perchaud on guitar, Christophe Panzani on saxophone and Tony Paeleman on keyboards, Paceo has designed a firework display, just as colourful as it is rhythmic. And never being able to label the music of this eclectic Bright Shadow album is an asset that reinforces the mystery of each of her poems. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

Israeli-born trumpeter Itamar Borochov plays a cross-pollinated style of jazz that brings together his love of Sephardic Jewish music, Arabic maquam, and richly textured modal post-bop. It's a sound that informed 2014's Outset and 2016's Boomerang, and one he further develops on 2019's atmospherically engaging Blue Nights. As a trumpeter, Borochov has a soft, warm sound that brings to mind the sultry, late-night style of artists like Miles Davis and Chet Baker. In fact, the opening track "Right Now" is just the kind of slow-burn anthem Baker might have recorded in the 1980s. It's a style that grounds much of Blue Nights, as Borochov builds upon this lyricism with songs that grow increasingly kinetic as he weaves in yet more of his Middle-Eastern and African influences. Part of what makes Borochov's multi-dimensional sound so appealing is that he is as much in command of the jazz tradition as he is any of the other ethnic traditions he explores here. The cinematic title track starts with Borochov playing a lilting, sensual theme that builds to a heart-wrenching pitch of skyward trumpet moans. Equally compelling, "Motherlands" has a sparkling piano groove that Borochov accents with the addition of vocals by the Moroccan collective Innov Gnawa. He also evokes the dramatic, minor-key tension of Love Supreme-era John Coltrane on the driving "Daasa!," whose title is a reference to the song's wavelike 7/4 Yemenite dance rhythm. Similarly, "Broken Vessels" combines Coltrane's spiritual jazz with a fusion-rock dynamism, as Borochov's trumpet brushes warmly against sweeping drums and far-eyed piano chords. Elsewhere, as on the buoyant "Garden Dog Sleeps," his fluid lines bring to mind Wynton Marsalis' early-'80s albums. Ultimately, with Blue Nights, Borochov has crafted a perfect balance between dusky jazz you want to cocoon yourself in, and polyrhythmic percussion grooves that pull you toward the horizon. © Matt Collar /TiVo

Admittedly Anne Paceo can’t be faulted for resting on her laurels. Each of the drummer’s new album is its own island. In 2016 with Circles, all stylistic boundaries faded away, stereotypes crumbled and creativity ran at full speed! With its songs and instrumental swerving, telluric rhythms, as well as libertarian energy, her fourth album unfolded an organic, poetic and inspired groove in collaboration with singer Leila Martial, saxophonist Emile Parisien and Tony Paeleman on the keyboards. Two years later with Fables Of Shwedagon, Anne Paceo’s roadmap is very original once again. She took off for Myanmar to combine her artistic expression with the traditional orchestra Hsaing Waing, a formation dating back to the 17th century, and whose composition hasn’t changed since! It consists of five main instruments: the pat waing (a set of 21 drums in a circle, played with the hands), the maung hsaing (36 small gongs installed both horizontally and vertically, played with drumsticks), the chauk lon pat (7 large drums played with the hands), the hne (reed instrument) and the siwa (small bell and wood block). Recorded live during the Jazz Sous les Pommiers festival in Coutances in May 2017, Fables of Shwedagon documents this amazing encounter that led Paceo to compose some magnificent hybrid themes. Along with saxophonist Christophe Panzani, guitarist Pierre Perchaud, pianist Leonardo Montana and bassist Joan Eche-Puig, she converses with five Burmese virtuosos to create a rather unique symphony of sharing. No matter if it is jazz or traditional music, as the blending of styles is purely exhilarating. Trippy! © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz

A nice breath. Wide and controlled. We enter Elodie Pasquier’s Mona with catlike stealth. But it doesn’t last. The blows will rain down. The caresses too. Blood, tears, smiles, kisses and all the rest fill the 45 minutes of this packed disc. Above all, there’s this feeling that the sound from Elodie Pasquier’s clarinet is one with the sound of her own breathing. To go from the calm to the storm, gathering power and wisdom with such grace is not within everyone’s reach. We felt the potential in her past feats of arms. Notably with orTie, in duet with the late Grégoire Gensse. But now, for this recording bearing only her name, her aura spreads. Elodie Pasquier isn’t really alone, because she’s surrounded by four big bodyguards: the impressive Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, the Belgian drummer Teun Verbruggen, the trumpet player Fred Roudet and the saxophonist Romain Dugelay. It’s a quintet of soul adventurers, of timber chasers that alternate between free sequences and stripped-down meditations without highlighting the transitions. No, there’s no decompression chamber in this music, only a breath palette. She’s astonishing. © MZ/Qobuz