Home » Jazz Articles » Joëlle Léandre
Jazz Articles about Joëlle Léandre
Joelle Leandre & Jerome Bourdellon: Evidence
by Glenn Astarita
Bass and flute represent significant tonal contrasts and here, flutist Jerome Bourdellon and world-renowned bassist, composer and improviser Joelle Leandre divulge innumerable perspectives and quite a bit of food for thought on these duets. However, Bourdellon employs bass clarinet and bass flute on two tracks, as no other instruments are nestled into the mid-sections of the program and the artists follow similar modalities to complement and support each other. Each piece presents a different viewpoint, largely immersed in ...
Continue ReadingJoelle Leandre / Serge Teyssot-Gay: Trans
by Eyal Hareuveni
The first collaboration between prolific French double bass and free-improvisation master Joëlle Léandre and fellow countryman, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay--founder of French progressive bands Noir Désir and Interzone, and affiliated with the experimental and more arty side rock--may not seem a natural fit. But this live recording from a benefit concert for the Point Ephémère magazine demonstrates that the two share a lot in common. Léandre and Teyssot-Gay weave patiently, carefully built and multilayered textures. Often these textures ...
Continue ReadingJoelle Leandre / Phillip Greenlief: That Overt Desire Of Object
by Mark Redlefsen
Contrabassist Joëlle Léandre and West Coast woodwind player Phillip Greenlief work out 11 different compositions between their two respective instruments and voices on That Overt Desire of Object. The flexibility and space that each provides the other seems to be reflected in the line note comments about the negative effects of greed. The title is a variation of the Luis Buñuel movie That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), with a playing field that appears a bit more level when compared ...
Continue ReadingJoëlle Léandre: Live at the Ulrichsberg Kaleidophon
by Glenn Astarita
Few modern era instrumentalists sojourn into uncharted regions of the musical cosmos with the ingenuity of bassist extraordinaire Joëlle Léandre. Supported by her vast discography as a leader and co-conspirator, Léandre's serious intentions are differentiated by a sincere vision and jubilant demeanor. These attributes repeatedly surface on her recordings. This release is a two-CD gala that presents stark contrasts, given the tentet and trio groupings. Recorded live in Austria on successive dates, the respective programs convey more emotive aspects and ...
Continue ReadingJoelle Leandre Tentet & Trio: Can You Hear Me?
by Eyal Hareuveni
It is quite rare to find recordings of composed works by French double-bassist Joëlle Léandre. Léandre has gained a justified reputation as an innovative virtuoso of the double-bass, a masterful free improviser, and as an imaginative collaborator, mostly in small, intimate outfits. This double-disc set, with its first half featuring Léandre's composed work for a tentet, is one of the treats that Léandre is releasing to celebrate her upcoming 60th birthday. This recording was captured on two consecutive ...
Continue ReadingJ. Leandre / N. Mitchell / D. Van Der Schyff: Before After
by John Sharpe
Flutist Nicole Mitchell's strong attachment to the Vancouver creative scene has borne unpredictable fruit. She has been an artist in residence at the city's International Jazz Festival from 2006-2010, but it was only when bassist Joëlle Léandre was likewise featured, in 2009, that the two combined, along with Vancouver native Dylan van der Schyff behind the drums, for the performance documented here as Before After. Over four collective inventions in a 43-minute program, the three participants reach an ...
Continue ReadingJ. Leandre / N. Mitchell / D. Van Der Schyff: Before After
by Glenn Astarita
One of the preeminent thinkers and bassists within the modern avant-jazz era, Joëlle Léandre shares equal billing on this addition to her voluminous discography. The trio's performance, at a community center in Vancouver, Canada, offers additional credence to the understanding that free improvisation must, in boundless entities and designs, be evocative and focused to become successful. This performance engenders numerous thought-provoking persuasions; austere at times, the trio flips the coin as well, by inciting a highly entertaining gameplan.
Continue Reading
