Home » Jazz Articles » The French Scene - Part 3

The French Scene - Part 3

By Ludovico Granvassu | Mondo Jazz
August 4, 2020
Sign in to view read count

Click the play button to listen

As we continue our journey in today's French jazz scene, we look at how it has been influenced by the many musical traditions that enrich the French society, in particular those from North Africa and the Middle-East, courtesy of Yacine Boulares, Ibrahim Maalouf, Naïssam Jalal, Smadj and Sophie Alour with Mohamed Abozekry and Wassim Halal ). To further widen the range of this episode, the urban influence of hip hop on jazz (Kit De Survie and Thiefs); the faux soundtracks of Fred Pallem; the groove of The Volunteered Slaves and Julien Lourau, the pianistic elegance of Baptiste Trotignon and Benjamin Moussay, the angular melodicism of Marc Ducret and the atmospheric lure of Michel Benita make it for a rather eclectic listening experience.

Happy listening!

Playlist

Ben Allison "Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00
Fred Pallem "Plurabella's Walk; Mustang Pursuit" Sound Trax (ZZ Productions) 0:16
Host talks 5:58
The Volunteered Slaves "Breakfast in Babylon" Breakfast in Babylon (Cristal) 8:39
Julien Lourau Groove Gang "Du Bist Too Much" City Boom Boom (Warner) 13:09
Kit De Survie "À titre posthume Kit, pt. 5" En milieu hostile (Triton) 17:47
Host talks 24:34
Thiefs "The Leaf Node" Graft (La Greffe) (Jazz&People) 26:41
Ibrahim Maalouf "Nomade Slang" Illusions (Mi'ster) 30:57
Smadj "Encore" Equilibriste (M.E.L.T.) 37:00
Host talks 43:30
Naïssam Jalal "Songe" Quest of the Invisible (Les couleurs du son) 45:36
Yacine Boularès "Nuba-Resilience" Abu Sadiya (Accords Croisés) 53:35
Sophie Alour "Exil" Joy (Music from Source) 1:01:37
Host talks 1:06:04
Marc Ducret "Rosalyne" Gris (Label Bleu) 1:08:09
Michel Benita & Ethics "Yeavering" River Silver (ECM) 1:10:46
Baptiste Trotignon "Milonga" You've Changed (Okeh) 1:14:14
Host talks 1:16:03
Benjamin Moussay "Theme from Nana" Promontoire (ECM) 1:16:43

Photo credit: Jeff Humbert

Post a comment

FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create 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.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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.