Chanson de Maxence
I am particularly attracted by the music of Michel Legrand,
represented by two songs in this French songbook. He is the
only composer, with Joseph Kosma and Charles Trénet (and
a few others) to have made a permanent stamp on the
international repertoire of standards and evergreens, from
which jazzmen looking for melodies have long drawn their
inspiration.
Gérard Rouy, Jazz Magazine
Cécile, ma fille
When this song was written, Claude Nougaro was just
beginning his career. Dark, obstinate and… tender, as shown
by the lyrics of this song, a hard-boiled guy who falls head
over heels in love with a baby girl. His baby girl. Ever since,
Claude has always been with us. He had blues, jazz and
poetry in his blood. He was like a big brother, rebel and
protector. I never pass in front of his brick house in Paris
without my heart skipping a beat. Thank you, the Alzy Trio, for
helping to keep the legend of this magnificent artist alive.
Marie-Hélène Fraïssé, France Culture
The melody is everything, elegantly simple. Emotion just
barely contained, true feeling expressed along the trails of an
inner voyage, a desire, a moment in life. The lyrics by
Nougaro exude the many fragrances of a young woman
coming into being. Of course, his words and his notes echoed
my own desires far beyond any rhyme or reason. No doubt
because the Nougaro of that time, still a young man, stood, to
my open eyes and ears, as a son of the south, where they
play rugby, and as a child born of jazz, java and opera.
Robert Latxague, Jazz Magazine
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Chanson de Maxence
I am particularly attracted by the music of Michel Legrand,
represented by two songs in this French songbook. He is the
only composer, with Joseph Kosma and Charles Trénet (and
a few others) to have made a permanent stamp on the
international repertoire of standards and evergreens, from
which jazzmen looking for melodies have long drawn their
inspiration.
Gérard Rouy, Jazz Magazine
Cécile, ma fille
When this song was written, Claude Nougaro was just
beginning his career. Dark, obstinate and… tender, as shown
by the lyrics of this song, a hard-boiled guy who falls head
over heels in love with a baby girl. His baby girl. Ever since,
Claude has always been with us. He had blues, jazz and
poetry in his blood. He was like a big brother, rebel and
protector. I never pass in front of his brick house in Paris
without my heart skipping a beat. Thank you, the Alzy Trio, for
helping to keep the legend of this magnificent artist alive.
Marie-Hélène Fraïssé, France Culture
The melody is everything, elegantly simple. Emotion just
barely contained, true feeling expressed along the trails of an
inner voyage, a desire, a moment in life. The lyrics by
Nougaro exude the many fragrances of a young woman
coming into being. Of course, his words and his notes echoed
my own desires far beyond any rhyme or reason. No doubt
because the Nougaro of that time, still a young man, stood, to
my open eyes and ears, as a son of the south, where they
play rugby, and as a child born of jazz, java and opera.
Robert Latxague, Jazz Magazine
Chanson des jumelles
The trade winds carried the twin sisters from the movie to
South America. What were their names again? I have
forgotten them, but not the tune, so heady and exuberant,
composed by Michel Legrand. The two were so frivolous,
mischievous and such a pain. Jacques Demy chose two
sisters, Françoise Dorléac and Catherine Deneuve. A few
years before, the first had starred with Belmondo in L’homme
de Rio, in Brazil, and the second, later, with Yves Montand in
Le Sauvage, on an island in Venezuela. And they were still so
frivolous, mischievous and such a pain. It almost seems that
the girls from Rochefort, along the Atlantic coast of France,
had already set their sights on the South-American rhythms
so dear to the Alzy Trio.
Sandrine Mercier, France Inter
Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?
For me, this song evokes the difference between melancholy
and nostalgia. It is of course the second that best describes
the subject here, which looks back over a happy past whose
memories remain a moment of joy. The "stolen kisses" are
the evanescent little secrets that inspired François Truffaut.
Jean-Paul Boutellier, Vienne jazz festival
Les feuilles mortes
It has been a while that autumn leaves have been falling,
twirling, dying and resuscitating, autumn leaves yet still so
green. Blues for the fertile sadness of autumn, then the rite of
spring and the joy, still there, for the music. A leaf falls, a few
notes of music and an entire universe springs up, always the
same, never the same. This time, it is the Alzy Trio that
interprets this classic jazz tune for our greater pleasure.
Jean-Christophe Martin, France Info
All these melodies are the background music of my life. Some
of them since my birth. But I owe my first name to Yves
Montand, the permanent "guest" at home. So I have a special
spot in my heart for Autumn leaves, the song of my parents.
Its nostalgia has always been there to envelop me like a spell
of loyalty to friends, to ideas. And also like a promise of
sadness when losing one of them. So, Bonjour tristesse.
Yves Sportis, Jazz Hot
Tu verras
What a joy to rediscover the lyrics of this song, carried by a
woman’s voice that is spellbinding, suave and dynamic, and
accompanied by heartfelt music. A hymn to love that makes
me want to rediscover the repertoire of that moving wordsmith
who had rhythm in the blood. No one is the same after hearing
this song.
Michèle Caron, France Bleu
Billie Jean
The arrangement of Billie Jean, an absolute cult song and a
UFO in this French songbook, shows once again that rules
are made to be broken. What would become of our liberty if
that were not the case? What would become of creativity if
there were no rule breakers? What would become of the
epicurean Alzy Trio if it did not break away from its basic
genre, bossa nova, in order better to seduce and surprise
us? What could be more true to jazz than this "alzy" cover of
a hit written by the king of pop. The Alzy guitars play exciting
variations of the hypnotic bass guitar lick. One of the songs
on this album asks what remains of our loves. The answer is
Billie Jean, of course.
Pierre Bigorgne, Grands Reportages magazine
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