Stephane Belmondo

Relating all the influences that have marked their experiences as men and musicians, the compositions of this album are the expression of a new sequence of their lives, in the manner of Miles' "In a Silent Way".

Relating all the influences that have marked their experiences as men and musicians, the compositions of this album are the expression of a new sequence of their lives, in the manner of Miles' "In a Silent Way".

Respecting the work's spiritual message and musical architecture, Christophe Dal Sasso's arrangement of A Love Supreme is faithful to the fervent spirit of John Coltrane's music. The thematic underpinning of A Love Supreme is a personal struggle for purity, and it expresses the artist's deep gratitude as he admits that his talent is not owned not by him but by a higher power. In the capable hands of Dal Sasso and the legendary Belmondo brothers, Lionel and Stephane, A Love Supreme still resounds fifty years later with an emotional force that borders on the eternal.

The genesis of the duet partnership of pianist Jacky Terrasson and trumpeter/flugelhornist Stephane Belmondo stretches back 30 years. Close friends from their days living and playing in Paris and then while band mates in vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater’s groups in the mid-‘90s, the pair enjoyed a simpatico musical relationship. But they lost contact over the years until six years ago when they reconnected and played a duo show in the south of France. That proved to be the seed of their sublime duo album on Impulse, "Mother", that was recorded last fall and in April of this year at Recall Studios in the southern France village of Pompignan.

20 années séparent la rencontre entre les deux artistes, Stéphane Belmondo et Sylvain Luc, qui après une soirée d’improvisation sur la scène du mythique Baisé Salé, à Paris, soirée qui les porta jusqu’au bout de la nuit, donna naissance au CD “Ameskeri”. Joli succès à l’époque pour cet album, suivi de tournées…

Since the 1980s, French trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo has been a well-known figure in clubs, from Paris to New York. He has collaborated with jazz personalities such as Dee DeeBridgewater, Horace Silver and Lee Konitz. Above all, Belmondo knows what jazz is all about: with a profound respect for tradition, he explores new paths in complete freedom. Along with forays into classical music and that of Stevie Wonder, among others, his name remains inextricably linked to the musical experiments of the Belmondo Quintet.

One is of Viking origin, the other Tuscan, and it is their differences, but also what their journey brought them that was similar, that they invoke in this musical biography.

One is of Viking origin, the other Tuscan, and it is their differences, but also what their journey brought them that was similar, that they invoke in this musical biography.

"Ever After" is neither a record of covers in the manner of 'Wonderland' (his re-reading of Stevie Wonder with a jazz seal), nor a record centred on vocals like the trumpeter's previous collaboration with Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento. In choosing Donny Hathaway as the tutelary figure for his new opus, Belmondo wanted to do more than pay tribute to one of his favourite singers; here he positions himself as a "total" musician, i.e. a man able to compose, write, arrange and perform songs in a broad swirl of influences, reject any differentiation between genres. He fronts a small band, augmented by strings, featuring vocalists Gregory Porter and Sandra Nkaké. Pianist Jacky Terrasson plays Fender Rhodes, an instrument whose sound is instantly identifiable with Hathaway's records.