Thierry Eliez - Sur l'écran noir (2021)

Becoming professional at the age of 17, Thierry Eliez first crossed paths with Didier Lockwood (album "1234") and André Ceccarelli (album "3 Around the 4" in trio), but it is mainly his position as pianist and musical director with Dee Dee Bridgewater for 14 years, which made him known to a very large audience. In 2005, Michel Legrand called him to play the organ for the Legrand - Nougaro project, which allowed him to meet Ron Carter. After several personal albums (such as “Improve Extended Trio”), he decided to carry out a project that has been close to his heart for a long time: to devote an album to texts from Toulouse which were set to music by Michel Legrand. At the beginning, Nougaro recited his texts to Lapin Agile. After having contacted, in vain, various possible interpreters, it was Michel Legrand, according to his words, who convinced Nougaro to sing his texts himself, on the music he had composed for him. This brings together 13 music by Michel Legrand and 12 texts by Nougaro. Only "The children who cry", which appears on the album "Recreation", is by Eddy Marnay. The original idea of ​​"On the Black Screen" is to have invited a dozen singers and singers, coming from very different backgrounds. First, jazzmen passionate about the voice: Thierry Eliez himself ("Le cinéma", "Le paradis"); for "Vachement casual", the saxophnist Thomas de Pourquery who, with the Red Star Orchestra, had sung the lyrics of the album "Broadways" and, on "Le rouge et le noir", the trumpeter Médéric Collignon, keen on improvisation vocal (notably within Andy Emler's MegaOctet). Then singers with very varied personalities: Celia Reggiani, Serge's daughter ("His house"), Ceilin Poggi, with a clear voice ("Hold on to my heart" and duet with Eliez for "Paradise"), Stella Vander, wife of Christian Vander of the group Magma ("Serge and Nathalie"), Paloma Pradal ("Alcatraz"). And, finally, singers: Alain Chamfort for "Ma fleur", Manu Domergue of the group Raven for "Splaouch", JP Nataf of the group Les Innocents for "You will sleep for a long time". This is not the first time that jazz musicians have paid homage to the creator of "Jazz and Java". We can think of Dédé Ceccarelli's albums, “Le Coq et la pendule” then “A Nous Garo”, with Pierre-Alain Goualch on the piano and David Linx on vocals. Here, nothing but piano-voices, if not a few trumpet notes at the end of "Le cinéma" and "Le rouge et le noir", a little viola on "Vachement casual" or the use of backing vocals for “Le rouge et le noir” with P. Pradal, C.Reggiani and C. Poggi. Everyone will have their preferences, both voice and originality side with the vocal improvisations of T. de Pourquery or M. Collignon. Then, inevitably, the most famous texts ("The cinema", "The red and the black") will undoubtedly retain more attention than less famous texts ("Serge and Nathalie"). A daring bet.