POISSY, FRANCE On a recent afternoon, an incongruous sound was seeping into the central courtyard of the Maison Centrale de Poissy, the highest security prison in the Paris region.
Some of the most dangerous convicts in the country were being treated to an explosive improvisation by the Gregksy Trio, a Paris-based experimental electro-jazz band, as part of the annual Saint-Germain-des-Pres jazz festival.
The two-week festival, which finished last weekend, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year with about two dozen gigs, mainly in clubs, bars and cafes, as well as related exhibitions and workshops.
It is the fourth time that the festival and the association behind it, Esprit Jazz, have taken music to jails here as part of an outreach program organized with other associations. Days earlier, the Ndidi quartet played a gig at the Versailles womens' prison.
The program's overarching aim is rehabilitation through culture, said Donatienne Hantin, production director.
“The festival was founded on human values, which really are part of jazz culture," she said. “It's about freedom, integrity, sharing, tolerance, audacity and creativity."
Some of the most dangerous convicts in the country were being treated to an explosive improvisation by the Gregksy Trio, a Paris-based experimental electro-jazz band, as part of the annual Saint-Germain-des-Pres jazz festival.
The two-week festival, which finished last weekend, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year with about two dozen gigs, mainly in clubs, bars and cafes, as well as related exhibitions and workshops.
It is the fourth time that the festival and the association behind it, Esprit Jazz, have taken music to jails here as part of an outreach program organized with other associations. Days earlier, the Ndidi quartet played a gig at the Versailles womens' prison.
The program's overarching aim is rehabilitation through culture, said Donatienne Hantin, production director.
“The festival was founded on human values, which really are part of jazz culture," she said. “It's about freedom, integrity, sharing, tolerance, audacity and creativity."
