Jazz Articles about Joëlle Léandre

Joelle Leandre Triple: Winter in New York (2006); DMG @ The Stone Vol. 1 & Freeway

by Kurt Gottschalk
June 8, 2008

Joelle Leandre & Kevin Norton Winter in New York 2006 Leo Records 2007 Joelle Leandre / Marilyn Crispell / Roy Campbell, Jr. / Mat Maneri The Stone Quartet DMG/ARC 2008 Joelle Leandre / Pascal Contet Freeway Clean Feed 2007

There's one thing that, perhaps ...

Joelle Leandre

by Kurt Gottschalk
March 15, 2008

Joelle Leandre has a huge voice. Not just a formidable singing voice, which can be friendly and frightening, charming and vulgar. And not only on her instrument which can be firmly grounded one moment and soar the next. Leandre's voice unabashedly carries conversation, carries it to unexpected places, making quick turns, never slowing down or backing off. Gender and race, world politics, freedom, jazz--as much of herself as she gives in concert, she can be just as open and direct ...

Joelle Leandre: The Art of the Duo

by John Eyles
March 2, 2008

"I was interested in the political sense, what is the position of the bass? Why does the bass have that position in the orchestra? Why only the low sounds? Why only as an accompanying instrument? I was bored with the hierarchy of the bass in the classical music. I did not want this position. It is the same in the commercial, classical jazz. I cut that radically. I don't want that position." Joelle Leandre in a 2008 interview ...

Joelle Leandre: On Freedom and Responsibility

by Eyal Hareuveni
January 21, 2008

“You're playing like Jimi Hendrix." That was the nicest compliment that French bassist Joelle Leandre received in her first tour of Israel and the Palestinian Authority in late November, 2007. Leandre's last solo concert was in Ramallah before an attentive audience that was mostly unfamiliar with her resume as one of the most creative musicians of the last forty years. “I was on fire that concert," she tells. “Maybe like Hendrix."

Leandre is one of those ...

Joelle Leandre: No Comment

by Nic Jones
May 27, 2007

This is a reissue of a set first put out in 2001. It features bassist and vocalist Joelle Leandre in a set of solo performances in which she exploits the full sonic potential of her instrument. As a stalwart of both free improvisation and contemporary composition, it's perhaps unsurprising how she manages to reconcile these seemingly disparate fields. What might not be so predictable is the compelling way she goes about the business; the results are admirable in their expressiveness ...

Joelle Leandre: Face It!; Lugano; At the Le Mans Jazz Festival

by Kurt Gottschalk
December 2, 2006

Joelle Leandre/Lauren Newton Face It! Leo 2006 Quartet Noir Lugano Victo 2006 Joelle Leandre At the Le Mans Jazz Festival Leo 2006

Double bassist Joëlle Léandre ranks right up there with Derek Bailey, Roscoe Mitchell and Cecil Taylor as among the best of ...

Jo: Firedance

by Jerry D'Souza
May 16, 2005

When two improvisers like Joëlle Léandre and India Cooke get together, one can expect to delight in their artistry. Bristling with ideas, they ride a wide range of sound with nary a dull moment as they make judicious use of the body and strings of the violin and bass, their voices, and--for a brief while--the rhythm of tap dancing. The concert, recorded at the 2004 Guelph Jazz Festival (an outstanding event held in Ontario, Canada), consists of seven “Firedances," each ...