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Le Gros Cube by Alban Darche is good news for jazz. Good news for the history of French jazz. Put like that, obviously, it seems an exaggeration. But let’s get one thing straight: Le Gros Cube by Alban Darche doesn’t pretend to change the history of jazz. It is a landmark. The music played for Le Gros Cube quite simply could not have been written or played before now. Alban Darche is born in 1974. Most of his fellow musicians are of the same age. They were trained and played – and still play – with the great movers and shakers of “classical” jazz. Musicians like Bruno Chevillon, Daniel Humair, Marc Ducret, Steve Coleman, Tim Berne, Claude Barthélémy... They came after this generation of musicians who, to dethrone idols, sometimes radicalised their music. Everything that might bear the slightest resemblance to the terrible relationship of jazz with American dance music has been cut out. The operation was successful: it gave rise to a freedom and a creativity rarely achieved until then. It also had the side-effect of “intellectualising” jazz, making it complex, and finally distancing it from the larger public. Alban Darche and the musicians of Le Gros Cube come after that generation. They have no statues to unseat, no idols to burn. And between them they have so many conservatoire prizes that they no longer need to add any more to prove their mastery in theory and technique. They have won the right to play what they love. They are among those groups that follow their elders’ committed research. At the same time, when they feel like rediscovering the simple joy of a “big band” that swings and roars with style, they throw themselves right in without reservation. That’s what Le Gros Cube is: pleasure to the first degree. A shared pleasure. On the stage with the musicians. In the hall, with the public, all publics. Casual listeners will find here all that brings a smile to the lips when listening to the big bands of American jazz. At the same time, “informed” lovers of jazz will be impressed by the richness of the orchestrations, the perfection of the ensemble sound, and keen creativity of the soloists. And if, in touching at once the lowbrow and specialists, Le Gros Cube were to rediscover the very essence of jazz? And if, finally, jazz had no other justification than to be popular music played by learned musicians?
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Parmi les innombrables métaphores machinistes qui ont déboulé dans l'histoire des « grands formats », celle du « gros cube » est inédite et parfaite pour qualifier cet orchestre flambant neuf, né à Nantes en 2002 : tour à tour ronronnant, ronflant ou rugissant, rutilant mais jamais trop, il fait moins penser à une formule 1 qu'à un joyeux ballet de motards en goguette, chorégraphié de main de maître. De l'instrumentation la plus classique du big band, Alban Darche réussit à tirer des combinaisons inouïes, démontant et remontant sans cesse les sections, revissant les sons à la façon d'un « meccano musical » confié à un enfant surdoué.
Chacun des quatorze membres de l'orchestre - tous solistes - semble galvanisé par une extrême liberté, grâce aux échappées vrombissantes que lui ménage une orchestration tout aussi cohérente que spectaculaire. Quant aux parties harmonisées, elles possèdent une qualité «vocale» exceptionnelle dans le jazz instrumental actuel. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-------------------------------------- "Ecouter pour l'instant" 2009 >> 3ème édition ! -------------------------------------- Dans les chapelles du périgord, un vent d'inspiration souffle déjà quelques notes et quelques pas de danse aux artistes invités ! -------------------------------------- 10/11/12 Juillet
Duo Marie CAMBOIS, danse / David CHIESA, bass + + + Duo Toma GOUBAND, percussions / Clayton THOMAS,bass
-------------------------------------- 31 Juillet / 1er & 2 Aout
-------------------------------------- 11/12/13 Septembre
« I R I S » Mette BURILD, chant Brice SONIANO, contrebasse Juan PARRA, computer Toma GOUBAND, percussions -------------------------------------- www.manege-music.fr --------------------------------------
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