Renaud Garcia Fons

With "Le souffle des cordes" Renaud Garcia-Fons aims to go further in the meeting of classical and traditionnal instruments. It's a "crossover" project mixing composition and improvisation.

Evoking memories from a simpler time, bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier sing beautiful melodies through their instruments, supplemented by finely structured improvisations. The collaborations of Grappelli and Reinhardt come to mind, but only as influences, as the instant duo uses dramatic rhythmic touches, a more Eastern European feel, perhaps, and a Spanish or Latin influence to create something different. The results are light, to be sure, but never insubstantial. Easy listening characterizes them, too, but not in the popular sense of being simplistic. Rather, the lilting sounds mesmerize gently, a perfect companion for a ride in the country. Both Garcia-Fons and Matinier are comfortable with their instruments, each taking the lead, passing it back, and intertwining as one voice…

Following his solo recording "Légendes" and the quartet album "Alboreá" (both of which received highest ratings from critics all over the world), Renaud's east-western synthesis comes to a climax on "Oriental Bass". Says Renaud: "I had a dream about a bass - half Gypsy, half Mauretanian - that travelled from India to Andalusia passing by the Mediterranean north or south. The bass is neither a traditional nor an oriental instrument. But its range of sonorities and the ways it is played upon - both pizzicato and con arco - seem to make it feel comfortable in the neighbourhood of certain instruments at home in the oriental world. For several years now my work - composing and improvising - has been led by these relationships and by the love the bass brings to all of this music…

Jazz has taken some unexpected directions in Europe. Garcia-Fons is a double-bass player, and he leads a French quartet that consists of himself, another double-bass player, an accordionist and a drummer. In this arrangement, Garcia-Fons exploits the huge range of the bass to play melody, while the other bassist large plays the traditional low part.
The well-known artist closest to Garcia-Fons' sound would have to be Astor Piazzolla, and indeed Alboreá does contain one tango, anagrammatically entitled "Natgo." Garcia-Fons also makes use of other world music sources, such as the Moorish sound of "Secret Zambra." And many of the tracks, not surprisingly, seem to owe something to French musette. Although Garcia-Fons might like to say his biggest musical influence was Charlie Mingus, it sometimes sounds as if his real mentor was André Previn, not just as jazz musician but as film score composer…

"ArcoLuz", the first live album after six studio recordings on ENJA, powerfully captures the fire and emotionality of Renaud Garcia-Fons' vibrant concert performance. With the core trio of "Entremundo" including upcoming flamenco star-stringer "Kiko" Ruiz and drummer "Negrito" Trasante of Gipsy Kings-fame, Garcia-Fons delivers seven of his thrilling Spanish-influenced pieces, four of them being brand new. His trio's highly inspired, forceful and expressive performance, caught at Germany's Schloss Elmau in summer 2005, is not only presented on a first-class CD recording but can also be seen on a 85-minute DVD video disc directed by Nicolas Dattilesi. With subtitles in four languages and bonus tracks included, the DVD is further proof for Renaud Garcia-Fons' and his trio's extraordinary musicianship and deep-felt emotions. "He's in a position to unite nations of music lovers"

What would happen if the dense yet lyrical imagery of Garcia Lorca's Romancero Gitano was woven into the aural tapestry of bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons' offering, that traverses Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and America? A bewitching mix of flamenco, Arabic, jazz and Latin-American music would collide, resulting in a perfect offering such as La Linea del Sur. This imaginary journey through the global south is truly mesmerizing.