Jazz Articles about Joëlle Léandre

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 ...

Joelle Leandre/Mark Nauseef: Evident

by John Kelman
February 10, 2004

For the first collaboration between bassist Joelle Leandre and percussionist Mark Nauseef, the landscape is purely alien; Evident finds the two looking outwards, incorporating a multitude of elements into a live program that runs the gamut from the tranquil to stormy. Created without any previous discussion or forethought, Leandre and Nauseef respond to each other's leads with an interesting level of empathy.

Leandre's background is in both the new music arena, citing John Cage as a mentor, and ...

Joelle Leandre - Masahiko Satoh - Yuji Takahashi: Signature - Live At The Egg Farm

by Glenn Astarita
February 1, 2003

This extraordinary 2-CD set highlights the enviable talents of bassist Joelle Leandre performing a series of duets with pianists Masahiko Satoh and Yuiji Takahashi. Recorded on two consecutive evenings at the Egg Farm in Japan, disc one features Leandre coalescing with Satoh for a rather fervent set. Folks, these are masterful exposés of like-minded artists whose synergy and affixation of musical spirits presents a distinct sense of oneness. Embellished by chamber-like sonic characteristics, the musicians express their collaborative faculties - ...

Jo: Signature

by Andrey Henkin
December 13, 2002

Within traditional jazz, piano-bass duets tend to be enacted under the leadership of the keyboardist - the bassist grounding the pianist in a way they would not be playing solo. Duets of any configuration in the avant-garde decry any idea of leader-sideman. This explains the many bass-led duets, a concept alien to hard bop circles, of which bassist Joëlle Léandre is a veteran. Her latest two-disc set on the Canadian imprint Red Toucan, Signature, pairs her with two drastically different ...

Joëlle Léandre: Organic-Mineral

by Glenn Astarita
April 18, 2002

Conservatory-trained and prize-winning bassist/improviser Joëlle Léandre has aligned herself with new music advocates such as Anthony Braxton and Morton Feldman, among others. So it should be of little surprise that the esteemed bassist would extend her wares a bit by connecting with koto performer Kazue Sawai for a set brimming with minimalist themes and impassioned improv. The koto is a Japanese musical instrument that can have anywhere between 1 and 17 strings extended over ...

Joelle Leandre & Ryoji Hojito: Sapporo Duets

by Glenn Astarita
September 1, 2001

Here, Ms. Joelle Leandre displays her consummate artistry alongside the very impressive pianist, Ryoji Hojito for a series of somewhat playful duets, featuring the artists' verbose musical dialogue and ornate textures. Through it all, the duo institutes an abundance of sub plots as Ms Leandre's resonantly wooden tone provides radiant contrast to the pianist's percussive block chords and flailing arpeggios. However, Hojito artfully toggles between working within the prepared piano style format and more conventional methodologies amid these ten untitled ...

Joelle Leandre - Hasse Poulsen - Francois Houle: c'estca

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 2001

Recorded live in Paris, 2000 – this trio embarks upon a quietly energetic affair as they rely upon their combined improvisational savvy and inherent resourcefulness for a set consisting of interweaving dialogue and polychromatic themes. On “c’estica 1”, double bassist Joelle Leandre pursues sweeping bowed bass lines, often counterbalancing clarinetist Francois Houle’s fleeting lyricism and guitarist Hasse Poulsen’s fervent plucking as the band renders a propulsive course of attack amid a potpourri of intricate developments.

The piece titled “c’estca 4” ...