Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sebastien Paindestre Trio: Parcours

239

Sebastien Paindestre Trio: Parcours

Sebastien Paindestre Trio: Parcours
Sebastien Paindestre can communicate with unbridled impressionism and also swing and bop like mad. These are what make this trio record, Parcours, such a memorable experience. The title suggests "wandering" or "wanderlust," depending on how you view the grammar of the music. You would think that it is courageous to make a trio record—piano, bass and drums—in a world inhabited by those under Bill Evans or Ahmad Jamal, or the attempts at stretching the form made by Keith Jarrett or Brad Mehldau; you would probably be right. So where does Paindestre fit?

To begin with his music appears to be concerned with the ideology developed by Evans—a new look, if you may, at the blurred lines between the impression of Ravel and the swinging boplicity of Bud Powell. As a classical pianist who came late to jazz, Paindestre enjoys the lightness of being: something that always characterized Evans' technique. But Paindestre also has the ability to hit the keys with bop accents like Powell did.

On this sophomore release, as he did on his privately released debut, Ecoutez-Moi, literally "Listen to me" (2005), his trio is comprised of bassist Jean-Claude Oleksiak and drummer Antoine Paganotti, who have played together for seven years. This is what gives them the almost telepathic sense of interplay. The musicians share ideas and impressions almost as if they were alter-egos of each other. Paindestre contributed most of the music for this date (barring "Un Pere Impair" meaning, "An Odd Father," which was written by Oleksiak), and it must be said that Paindestre's writing is characterized by his ability to write a standard song in varying meters.

Also from the impressionism of Ravel and Debussy, Paindestre has the ability to 'paint' musical canvases— very rare indeed among musicians who get stuck in the auditory sense alone. "Metamorphose" and "La Java de la Luna" (an almost surreal suggestion of coffee and crÈ—¨me on a lunar landscape) are classic cases in point—a moody piece that begins in a minor key and then brightens as it jumps from major to minor and back again. The interplay between piano, bass and drums is spectacular, as are Paindestre's hands on the keyboard. "Bess, You is My Woman Now" is rendered with extreme pathos and dances note by note as the song unfolds almost like a movie before your eyes. It is almost possible to see Porgy and Bess, arms entwined as they sweep across a floor.

On this record Sebastien Paindestre and his trio can do no wrong. But it would be of extreme interest to see how his next jazz project is rendered on record.

Track Listing

Le Soupirail; Metamorphose; Un Pere Impair; Bess, You Is My Woman Now; Merlin; Je Kaje Lune; La Java de La Luna II; 5 Boulevard Serrurier; Tell Me a Bedtime Story.

Personnel

Sebastian Paindestre: piano; Antoine Paganotti: drums; Jean-Claude Oleksiak: bass.

Album information

Title: Parcours | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.