Concert at MAMAC for the Night of Museums in Nice

On the occasion of the Night of Museums on May 14, 2011, the MAMAC offers at 6:30 PM, 8:30 PM, and 10:30 PM a concert entitled “Imaginary Legends”. It will be performed by Serge Pesce and Vincent Chancey.

It was during a recording session in New York that the two men met. Charmed by the musical harmony of their two instruments: the French horn and the augmented guitar, they decided to create a duo as soon as possible. Steeped in their respective cultures, jazz for Vincent Chancey and Italo-Niçois for his counterpart, they compose “imaginogenic” music, the subject of which is legends and tales.

Vincent Chancey

A recent graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Music, Vincent Chancey moved to New York to continue his studies with the old pioneer of French Jazz, the horn player Julius Watkins. The award of a grant from the N.E.A foundation also enables him to begin his study program. After several years of courses and diligent practice, he becomes a regular member of the Sun Ra Arkestra (1976 – 1978) for which he works occasionally and records a few albums. He then works for 6 years with the Carla Bley Band and, in 1984, joins Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, with which he participates in 9 albums. He later adds 5 albums recorded with the David Murray Big Band. For many years, artists and ensembles such as Chick Corea, Cassandra Wilson, Shirley Horn,

Randy Weston, The Gil Evans Orchestra, and The Mingus Orchestra have utilized Vincent Chancey’s talent. In the contemporary classical register, he also works with Guus Janssen on various projects in the Netherlands and with renowned artists such as Ashford and Simpson, Melba Moore, Peggy Lee, Maxwell, Aretha Franklin, Freddy Jackson, The Winans, Elvis Costello, Brandy, and many others. In 2000, he had the honor of playing on the occasion of Pope John Paul II’s 80th birthday.

Serge Pesce

Serge Pesce plays the augmented guitar… that is, his guitar is paired with a custom toolbox to produce an exceptional palette of sounds. It is a concept strangely distant from the traditional guitar that he has been developing for years. You will hear a cello, a sarangi (Indian violin), a woman’s voice, and a hundred more sounds. All this is acoustically produced, live, without effects, without sampler, without loop. Serge Pesce draws from these colors to create or evoke music that resonates with his imagination, nourished by the Mediterranean and jazz, improvised music, and his Italo-Niçois culture.

He performs in Europe, Africa, and the United States.
Musical partner of: Vitous, Miqueù Montanaro, Barre Phillips, Patrick Vaillant, Yves Rousguisto, Arthur H, Sapho, Marc Peillon, Alex Grillo, Jean-Luc Danna, Doudou Gouirand, Bernard Santacruz, Barry Wallenstein, John Hicks, Cecil McBee, Vincent Chancey, Curtis Lundy, Daniel Carter, Jean Félix Lalanne…