Matthieu Chedid Mama Sam

The music of the French native, Valencia-based cellist Matthieu Saglio combines influences from all around the Mediterranean, from North Africa to Southern Europe. He first gained international recognition as a member of the trio "NES" and the album "Ahlam" in 2018. Soon after Saglios' solo debut "El Camino de los Vientos" earned huge success, especially in the digital world, and has been played over seven million times on Spotify alone.

French saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave’s first leader date for ECM introduces a new project with German pianist Florian Weber and Swiss bassist Patrice Moret. On La traversée - The Crossing - Bordenave explores musical ground between contemporary composition and jazz, subtly influenced by the innovations of the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow, who “opened new territory that remains relevant for improvisers today.” The recording of La traversée, he explains, was guided by an approach to trio playing, “in which melodic lines interweave and blossom in the nuances of tones, as each musician follows his intuition.” Bordenave leads the way with his highly distinctive saxophone sound, recently characterized by Down Beat as “light yet textured and authoritative”, establishing that this is music in which space will play an important role. La traversée was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in the South of France last autumn, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

There’s an embarrassment of riches where Couperin’s Read more are concerned. My current favorite is Christie/Les Arts Florissants (Erato 017067), with Patricia Petibon and Sophie Daneman the latter exquisite in her tightly focused but sweet tone and immaculate ornamentation. Equally good in its way, with a slightly richer tone though a trifle too expressively restrained for my tastes, is Christopher Hogwood with Emma Kirkby and Judith Nelson (L’oiseau Lyre 430283).

Back with a newly formed quintet, gathered together for a particularly fruitful 2024 session in Southern France, the German pianist Benjamin Lackner presents a different and exciting side of his composer-approach. Trumpeter Mathias Eick is the sole returnee from Lackner’s debut Last Decade, and can be heard in striking dualism with Mark Turner’s idiosyncratic saxophone dialect, forming a key-characteristic of the interplay that permeates Spindrift. The horn-duo and pianist are joined by the nonpareil bassist Linda May Han Oh and French drummer Matthieu Chazarenc, who was part of Lackner’s trio before the pianist’s tenure with ECM. Subtle fanfares meet contemplative lyricism in a programme of originals that always puts melody and ensemble chemistry first. Saxophone and trumpet take the lead, forming their own little ensemble section, and contribute elegantly interwoven lines and striking solos to an especially harmonious group sound and a tuneful set of songs. The album was produced by Manfred Eicher.

First recording of Alessandro Scarlatti's last oratorio. Countertenor Matthieu Peyrègne, who has performed in ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Ensemble Correspondances and Les Talens Lyriques, founded the Ensemble Baroque de Monaco in 2013. The musicians are committed to the baroque heritage of the principality, as Antoine I, who ruled Monaco at the beginning of the 18th century, was on exchange with Louis XIV and shared with him a passion for musical performance. Monaco was an essential stop for artists and composers travelling between France and Italy.