Benoît Paradis Trio

François Houle/Evan Parker/Benoit Delbecq - La Lumiere de Pierres (2007)
Avante-garde jazz | 1CD | MP3 256 Kbps | 81814 kB
Label: Psi

“Recorded at the Innovations concert series in Montreal in 2005, this trio teams Evan Parker with the established duo of Benoit Delbecq and François Houle, who have been together for a decade. The pair is known to play a wide variety of music—from classical to world to jazz and improvisation—all of it extremely well. Both technically and temperamentally, they are suited to Parker; the threesome sound well-adjusted to each others' instincts, and should as this was not just a one-off meeting; there are plans for the threesome to tour in 2008. ” – album review on AllAboutJazz.com

Benoit Delbecq - Crescendo In Duke (2012) {Nato Music nato-4375}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 352 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 135 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 Nato Music | nato-4375
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Modern Jazz / Keyboards

Crescendo in Duke is jarring. Not in a ridiculous or repellant kind of way— after all, it’s a collection of Duke Ellington compositions. Safe enough. It’s of the high quality usually associated with French pianist Benoît Delbecq, too. It’s just that it’s so straight-ahead, it’s all but unrecognizable as a Delbecq album. Delbecq’s made a name for himself with his prepared piano, creating a catalog of unorthodox jazz that can easily silence any grumblings about the gimmicky nature of mucking around the inside of a piano. But aside from a loop that underlies “Portrait of Wellman Braud” and a quirky take on “Whirlpool,” there’s not much of that here. Just the usual big band business with a more modestly-sized band.

The newly formed Vertical Jazz Records debuts with an attractive, six-CD series of straightahead trio, quartet and quintet recordings showcasing top West Coast jazz artists, many of whom had never recorded together before. Because these musicians have leaned toward pop-jazz or pursued unidentified studio work, they may surprise you with their stunning straightahead remakes of standards. These sessions, recorded under direction of executive producer/president Suzanne Severini last spring at Ocean Way Recording Studios in Hollywood, prove the label is off to a strong start.

Pianist/composer Jacques Loussier demonstrated musical ability at an early age, starting to play at the age of ten and entering the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris at 16. Loussier's main professor there was Yves Nat, who in turn was encouraged by Faure, Saint-Saens, and Debussy as a student himself…