Jazz Articles about Simon Groppe

About Simon Groppe

Album Review

Pierre-Antoine Savoyat: Thousand Shades of a Clown

Read "Thousand Shades of a Clown" reviewed by Ieva Pakalniškytė

by Ieva Pakalniškytė
April 13, 2026

On his 2026 album release, Thousand Shades of a Clown (Challenges Record, 2026), Brussels-based trumpeter and composer Pierre-Antoine Savoyat places the emphasis on proportion, timbre, and space, balancing a quiet surface with an underlying intensity. Leading his quartet Le Monde Merveilleux de Pepito, Savoyat shapes a sound that is understated yet deliberate, allowing the music to unfold without pushing toward obvious peaks. Rather than demanding attention, it draws the ear in gradually, revealing through detail and interaction. From the outset, ...

Album Review

Aka Moon: Quality of Joy

Read "Quality of Joy" reviewed by Mario Calvitti

by Mario Calvitti
April 3, 2023

Superato anche il traguardo dei 30 anni di attività, il trio belga degli Aka Moon ritorna con un nuovo progetto discografico, che rappresenta una summa del lavoro svolto finora, ma anche un nuovo punto di partenza verso altri orizzonti musicali. Come già accaduto in passato, al trio di base, costituito dal sassofonista Fabrizio Cassol, dal bassista Michel Hatzigeorgiou e dal batterista Stéphane Galland e rimasto invariato in tutti questi anni, si aggiunge un fitto stuolo di musicisti ospiti ...