Jazz Articles about Francois Couturier
François Couturier, Tarkovsky Quartet: Nuit Blanche
by Alberto Bazzurro
Nuovo capitolo (il terzo) per il progetto speciale intitolato al grande regista russo Andrej Tarkovskij e ruotante attorno alla figura di François Couturier, ma con organico costante e dinamiche interne largamente collaudate in un decennio abbondante di attività. Qui i brani firmati (anche solo per l'arrangiamento) dal sessantasettenne pianista francese si alternano generalmente con episodi a firma collettiva dietro i quali s'indovina facilmente la pratica dell'improvvisazione collettiva, o se preferite della composizione istantanea. Il terreno è complessivamente ...
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by John Kelman
Following their sublime duo outing, Moderato Cantabile (ECM, 2014), cellist Anja Lechner and François Couturier reunite in the pianist's quartet responsible for two-thirds of a recorded trilogy for ECM Records, all devoted to Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, whose name would ultimately become synonymous with the group: Tarkovsky Quartet. Bookending Couturier's second album of the trilogy, 2010's solo piano session Un jour si blanc, 2006's Nostalghia--Songs for Tarkovsky and 2011's Tarkovsky Quartet established Couturier's quartet--also featuring soprano saxophonist Jean-Marc ...
read moreFrancois Couturier: Tarkovsky Quartet
by John Kelman
He may have passed away a quarter century ago, but the spirit of Russian film director Andrey Tarkovsky continues to loom large, and not just in the world of cinema. The connection between film and music has long been an intimate one, dating back to the early silent days, when pianists provided a live (and often improvised) soundtrack in theaters around the world. It's hard to imagine many films without the scores that not only add weight to the narrative, ...
read moreFrancois Couturier: Tarkovsky Quartet
by Nenad Georgievski
Rarely has any other person had such an immense influence on world culture as the late Russian film director Andrey Tarkovsky. His meditations on spirituality and the human soul have brought many a step closer in their journey towards the light. As any luminary whose work and thoughts have inspired countless others, Tarkovsky--besides being a composer for the eye--has also inspired music for the ear. Plenty of artists--including Jan Garbarek, Arvo Part, Jon Hassell, Luigi Nono and Toru Takemitsu--have found ...
read moreFrançois Couturier: Un jour si blanc
by AAJ Italy Staff
Concepito quale ideale secondo volume di una trilogia fondamentalmente dedicata ad un ristretto giro di artisti ed intellettuali tra i quali Arseni Tarkovsky, poeta padre del grande regista russo Andrei, scomparso un quarto di secolo fa, Un jour si blanc è titolo mutuato proprio da un poema scritto da Tarkovsky padre nel corso del Novecento che portava il semplice nome di “White Day". “Una tranquilla passeggiata dall'alba al tramonto in un mondo ideale in cui fragranze, colori e suoni corrispondono..." ...
read moreFrancois Couturier: Un jour si blanc
by John Kelman
For forty years, ECM has created a fertile landscape for the solo piano recital. The list of illustrious pianists who have contributed to this pantheon is as stylistically broad as it is internationally inclusive. Paul Bley, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Marilyn Crispell, Jon Balke, Misha Alperin, Vassilis Tsabropoulos--all these pianists have placed their individual stamps on a style of solo improvisation that, with Manfred Eicher's attention to transparency and clarity, have become touchstones to which other labels and artists aspire. ...
read moreFrancois Couturier: Nostalghia - Song For Tarkovsky
by Budd Kopman
Nostalghia is a breathtaking and beautiful record that elicited some of the deepest emotional responses I have ever had to music--any music. Standing on its own, this recording does not demand that one even know who Andrei Tarkovsky was; but finding this out only deepens the musical experience, signifying the success of this project. Pianist Francois Couturier has written music that is meant to evoke the emotions elicited by the films of his favorite director. A Russian ...
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