Saxophonist/clarinetist and composer Louis Sclavis has displayed a relentless pursuit of the unknown in his recordings for ECM in particular and in his long career in general. Take L'Imparfait des Langues, for instance, his 2007 outing for ECM. While he's never used two bands that were exactly the same on his recordings for the label, this one is easily his most adventurous. The only remaining member of his past ensembles is drummer par excellence Francois Merville. The other bandmembers – alto saxophonist Marc Baron; keyboardist, guitarist, and electronician Paul Brousseau; and guitarist Maxime Delpierre – are all younger musicians who have very diverse musical backgrounds.
Created under the initiative of the French Ministry of Culture, the Orchestre National de Jazz began in 1986. Known as a creative laboratory, the ONJ has evolved through nine different projects under the control of a series of musical directors. Born in 1969, composer, guitarist and conductor, Olivier Benoit has multiple associations in musical investigations which cross: improvisation, experimental music, jazz, contemporary, electronic music, dance, theatre, circus and video.