ReleaseDate:21/09/2018(GayaMusic/l’AutreDistribution)
«Thisisacrossing.Notbuckleddownintheholdoftheship,butupcareeningonitsdecks.Andyet,itallstartswithcalm.Asiftotamethewindsontheopensea.Thenotesoftheexpanse.Sofar,soclose.It’sthemagicoftheCubanSantería,theBrazilianCandomblé,andtheHaitianandBenineseVodûn. It’sabout intertwiningwhat is fromhereandwhat isfromthere.TheseCaribbeanstoriesarealsostoriesbornofHistoryingreatupheaval.ItappearsthatSamyThiébaulthasgraspedtheplasticityofthismusic.Itcomesinvariousforms.Rarelyisthereyelling;thismusictendstoitsgeographicrootsandlooksafteritsculturalbranches,yetitalsobearswitnesstotheviolenceanddisturbancesthatledtoitsexistence–thechasmfromwhichitcame,thethresholdofthechasmitoftenfounditselfstandingoverinself-defense.Itbearswitnesstothechaosthatgaveitsubstance,andagrowlingserenity.»ChristianeTaubira
Sometimes,onemustletoneselfbeguidedbytruthsotherthanhardfact,evenwhenthesefactshavebeenwithusforalongtime,andevenwhenwearecertainthateverythinglinesupperfectlythatway,sidebyside.Jazzisjazz;calypsoiscalypsoiscalypso,andmerengueissomethingelse–thoughwearenotquitesurewhat.Giveortake,it’sakindofzoukthatcamebeforesalsa.
Andsothat’swherewestood.Thecoolguysplayedjazz;thehotelgroupplayedcalypso,andthecaterwaulingoveratthebar,well,thathadtobemerengue.Sure,thereweresomenuances, becausewe all know that SonnyRollins played “St. Thomas” and thatHarryBelafonte’s talents weren’t limited to making blue-haired ladies sigh in nostalgiccontentedness.Wewere sure that jazzwas jazz and thatmusic for tourists is prettyenough,butthatallyouneedtoknowarethreechordsandtwopatternsandyou’vegotitdown.
AndthenSamyThiebaultcamealong.Hedidn’tgoofftotheCaribbeanthinkinghewouldwagewaronclicheorleadacrusadeagainstgeo-musicologicalplatitude.No–hesimplydevelopedapassionformusicthatwentagainstthegrainofaheapofwell-establishedideas.“Ithitmelikeatonofbricks,”hesaid.
CaribbeanStoriesisallaboutthistonofbricks:anincrediblemixingofmusicthatrevealshoweachtraditionislinked,intertwined,related.Jazz,calypso,merengue,waltz,bolero,cha-cha-cha, and a hundred other genres in a massive tornado at once profound,hedonistic,moving,poetic,andpolitical.
Thisloquacious,classysaxophonistisn’tcontentwithjustgoingbeyondjazz.Heshows–or rather, he admits – that jazz is one mode amongmany in a huge, tragic, sublimeadventureofwhite,blacks,andhumansofhundredsofothercolorsfromthreecontinents,whoforcenturieshavebeensetontransformingapainfulfateintosharedsplendor.SamyThiebault plunges into the music of the Creole archipelago without establishing ahierarchy,asifhewerethepoorsoulsetuponthepathsofHistoryfromporttoport,fromballtoball,frommisfortunetomisfortune,fromresiliencetoresilience.
In brief: Caribbean Stories recounts the survival of African slaves, of down-and-outEuropeans, tormented American Indians, and mixed-race travelers. There is sharing,instanttransformation,andinstinctivehybridizing.PlayingwithSamyThiebault,thereisagroupfromalloverwhatEa douardGlissantcalledthis“Tout-Monde,”or“wholeworld”:the percussionist Inor Sotolongo, the drummer Arnaud Dolmen, the bassist FelipeCabrera,theguitaristsHugoLippiandRalphLavital–twoCubans,oneGuadeloupean,oneFrenchman,andanEnglishman.
BornontheIvoryCoasttoaFrenchfatherandaMoroccanmother,SamyismorethanfamiliarwiththemixedideasoftheCaribbean:totheextentthatmusicalrealityhithiminVenezuela,echoedbackinPuertoRico,broughthimtoTrinidad,andthen,inFrenchAntilles, showedup in the formof beguine and all the tambourine beginnings of BobMarley...
In Caribbean Stories, Samy revisits the world before jazz criticism and theoversimplificationofculturalmaps.Hereturnstonomadism,tomusicwhenitwaslaidout on the table at awaterfront hole-in-the-wall cafe, aglow like someonewho’s justinventeda crossroads.His “PajarilloVerde”,basedonapoeticVenezuelan rebel song,turnsintoavirtuosicColtraniancheek-to-cheeknumber;while“LettheFreedomReign”summonsthespiritsofCountOssieandCharlieMingus,and“Calypsotopia”packsinbits
ofitinerantstandardsinasun-drencheddance;and“PuertoRicanFolkSong”transfersthe jibara of island mountains to a New York loft in the 1970s. “Poesia Sin Fin” issuspendedsomewherebetweentheblues,cha-cha-cha,modaljazz,andthemetaphysicalsyncretismof Jodorowsky. “Aida” gives a glimmer of Cuba in a romantic, exhilaratingmeditation,and“TangerlaNegra”isaCreolereflectionontheStraitofGibraltar...
SometimesitseemslikeStrayhorniswalkingbarefootinHavana,thatstreetkidsfromPortofSpainhavetakenoverthestageattheNewMorninginParis,thattheConservatoryhasmovedtoadanceclub...Ormaybeit’sthatSamyThiebault,saxophonistandflutist,who’sbeengarneringrespectnowforquiteawhile,hasdecidedtoembracethewidespectrumofCreolemusicwithoutsayingwhichisthebest,orthemostaccurate,orthecleverest.He simplymakesushear itshumanity.This trip to theCaribbeangives thismusicitshumblenobilityofultimateconsolation.Anditstruth.
BertrandDicale **************************************************************** -PublicRelations:frédériquemiguelPUBLICIST14ruebecquerel.75018paris.franceITél:+33.6.14.73.62.69Mail:[email protected]
-OnlinePromo:
ATTITUDE:XavierChezleprêtreTél:+33.6.64.63.79.38Mail:[email protected]
****************************************************************
