Baptiste Trotignon

At first impression, post-bop pianist/composer Baptiste Trotignon looks like a newcomer to the jazz scene, though he has recorded a number of CD since the mid-'90s as a leader on the Naive label. He will likely benefit from the wider distribution of his Sunnyside debut, which features Trotignon playing 11 originals with various lineups. A gifted pianist who shows lots of promise, Trotignon's works hold up well to repeated hearings, engaging his rhythm section and telling a story in the process, highlighted by the catchy "Mon Ange," and the wild uptempo blues "Red Light District."

Closing the distance between classical music and Broadway, between the old world and the new, this album is born out of a stunning encounter between two performers. Kate Lindsey is an opera star whose career is skyrocketing. She has stunned audiences with her performances of Mozart and Purcell, but grew up steeped in the music of Broadway, from Gershwin to Cole Porter. Baptiste Trotignon is a multie award-winning jazz pianist who plays with big names like Brad Mehldau or Tom Harrell, but who has a long-held interest in classical music, even composing a piano concerto for Nicholas Angelich.

At first impression, post-bop pianist/composer Baptiste Trotignon looks like a newcomer to the jazz scene, though he has recorded a number of CD since the mid-'90s as a leader on the Naive label. He will likely benefit from the wider distribution of his Sunnyside debut, which features Trotignon playing 11 originals with various lineups. A gifted pianist who shows lots of promise, Trotignon's works hold up well to repeated hearings, engaging his rhythm section and telling a story in the process, highlighted by the catchy "Mon Ange," and the wild uptempo blues "Red Light District."

Solo II est le deuxième album solo du pianiste de jazz français Baptiste Trotignon, sorti en 2005 sur le label Naïve. Il est accompagné d'un Dvd Live aux Jacobins puis, lors de sa réédition en 2008 d'un disque Live at Salle Pleyel.

For improvising musicians, the duo is the most intimate of set-ups. Two musicians, alone together, reaching out and responding to the other in the moment, create a glorious frisson. In the right hands, the result is honest and revelatory music. This album was co-directed by two artists who blended their styles to offer dusky and dreamy music, mainly composed of ballads, except for a short final wild samba evoking Sao Paulo nights.