This Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 7 PM at the CRR in Nice, a showcase will be organized for the release of the album “Festival.”
The NJO, with 17 musicians, some of whom are professors at the Nice Conservatory, boasts top performers. All are elite readers and improvisers.
This concert is dedicated to the memory of François Chassagnite.
Just as there is a Nice school of visual artists and painters, there is also the “Nice school of jazz” dear to Barney Willen: a jubilant jazz, a jazz that swings and grooves, a lively and exciting jazz that always projects into the future and into exploration. Following in this tradition, initiated by Pierre Bertrand, Christian Pachiaudi, and Alain Asplanato, and bringing together the best soloists from the Nice region, the NJO was founded in October 2008; it has since performed in the most beautiful venues and festivals in the region (Opéra de Nice, Jazz in Juan, Francis theater Gag, …).
The 17 NJO musicians, masterfully directed by Pierre Bertrand, were joined by accordionist Frédéric Viale, other members of the vocal group Sashird Lao, percussionist Minino Garay, clarinetist from Menton Stéphane Chausse, and Toulon-based trumpeter Nicolas Folmer…
This first album is an expression of the tremendous energy that animates the NJO and its musicians. Thanks to the diversity of soloists and talents that comprise it, the NJO radiates astonishing energy.
The desire to share music as if offering a fabulous feast determined the concept of this album.
Thus, the musical choices, compositions, and arrangements were dictated solely by passion, instinct, and love for music. This results in a single word that sums it all up: “festival.”
A festival is the perfect place for those driven by passion to discover new talents, see established soloists, attend one-of-a-kind musical encounters, and witness and live music while celebrating.
Artists featured on this album:
Jean-Christophe Di Costanzo – 1st alto saxophone
Ludovic Tallarico – Alto & soprano saxophone
Jean-Marc Baccarini – Tenor saxophone, soloist
Benjamin Boutant – Tenor & soprano saxophone
Christian Bonichi – Baritone saxophone
Frédéric Luzignant – 1st trombone, soloist
Francesco Castellani – Trombone, soloist
Alex Perdigon – Trombone
Bela Lorant – Bass trombone
Joël Chausse – 1st trumpet
François Chassagnite – Trumpet, soloist
Philippe Bleuez – Trumpet
Philippe Giulli – Trumpet
Tony Russo – Trumpet
Frédéricd’Oelsnitz – Piano
Amaury Filliard – Guitar
Christian Pachiaudi – Double bass & electric bass
Alain Asplanato – Drums
Pierre Bertrand – Flutes, Saxophones
Stéphane Chausse – Guest soloist: Clarinet and bass clarinet
Nicolas Folmer – Guest soloist: Trumpet
Minino Garay – Guest soloist: Percussions
Frédéric Viale – Guest soloist: Accordion
Sashird Lao – Frédéric Luzignant, Yona Yacoub, David Amar –
Tracklisting “FESTIVAL”
MY FUNNY VALENTINE
This track has the sad privilege of being the last solo of François Chassagnite recorded on disc. It is a version in homage to the world of Miles Davis and Gil Evans. This track naturally opens the album, which is entirely dedicated to the memory of François Chassagnite.
CARAVAN
Famous composition by Duke Ellington with an NJO twist, featuring Sashird Lao vocals delicately inserted into the wood section. The solo by Jean-Marc Baccarini, a prominent saxophone figure from the Azure region, remains uncompromisingly expressive.
ANATOLE
Composition by Jean-Pierre Como, initially intended for the last album of the group Sixun, is presented here in its very first version with the immense Azure guitarist Amaury Filliard.
HAUT DE CAGNES
Composition by Pierre Bertrand in tribute to his hometown: Cagnes-sur-Mer. This piece, originally written for accordion, finds its most expressive version here with Frédéric Viale on accordion and Pierre Bertrand on flute, in a play very inspired by flamenco guitarists.
PARIS CHAVIRE
Initially created by Julien Lourau’s Groove Gang, here’s an original big band version, with the Azure vocal group Sashird Lao, which has been traveling the world for six years, saxophonist Jean-Marc Baccarini, and Argentinian percussionist Minino Garay who does a Rap/Slam to explain different kinds of love: el amor Brujo, el amor negro, el amor rojo, el amor sexo… “mas la hace y mas te vuelves loco!”
AIR COMME RENÉ
Composition by pianist Zool Fleisher, one of France’s greatest jazz composers.
FOR JK
Composition by Pierre Bertrand dedicated to German saxophonist Jochen Kreuzer, inspired by a Klezmer folklore lullaby dear to him.
It is the first version for soprano saxophone recorded here by the composer as a soloist.
A NIGHT IN TUNISIA
A very Mediterranean arrangement with the immense trumpeter Nicolas Folmer, an adopted Azure native settled in Toulon for some years, and who has been invited many times by NJO. On trombone, Francesco Castellani shows great expressiveness and lyricism here.
GRANDE PARADE BOOGALOO
This track is a tribute to the “Grande Parade du Jazz” in Nice, where Pierre Bertrand, like many musicians of his generation, found his musical vocation in the late seventies. A composition that summarizes the “festival” title of the album.
It is an opportunity to showcase the talents of “groover” Frédéric Luzignant on trombone, who draws the NJO from big band towards marching band.
TEMA DE MAELA
Composition by Argentinian musician Lalo Zanelli (pianist of the group Gotan Project) arranged with muted woodwinds and brass. A silky setting for a great solo by Stéphane Chausse, one of the best clarinetists in the world (he has shared the stage with Eddie Daniels and Paquito D’Riviera), born in Menton in 1974 and who trained at the CRR in Nice and then at CNSM in Paris.
WORK SONG & THE CAT
These are arrangements written in 2000 by Pierre Bertrand for Claude Nougaro’s concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, adapted for the NJO for the album.
