David Linx – Real Men Cry

At just sixty years of age, David Linx’s obvious maturity and youthful creativity shine through on this opus.

It’s a maturity that Linx has been demonstrating for several decades, having had to assume his place as a European jazz vocalist from the outset, in a context where he was the only singer in a style dominated by female and/or American voices.

Over the years, David Linx has developed an incomparable identity insofar as he often presents himself – as is the case here – not only as a performer, but also as a composer and lyricist of the themes that make up his repertoire. And this is the case here for two-thirds of the themes on this new recording.

A youthful creativity, for Linx always seems to approach music with an unaffected freshness and a joy of playing that never fails. Another of David Linx‘s qualities is his ability to surround himself with highly talented partners.

These included pianists Diederik Wissels and Mario Laginha, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, trumpeter Paolo Fresu or electric bassist Michel Hatzigeorgiou, and today a trio with whom he has been performing for several years, and who is joined here by Hermon Mehari‘s luminous trumpet, a magnificent complement to the singer’s velvety timbre.

This rhythm section, with which Linx is totally in tune, has the particularity that each of its members is also the leader of his own group(s), so they know how to put their talent at the service of the singer’s aesthetic.

Linx‘s phrasing is supremely supple and elegant, and he takes us on a poetic journey of great serenity and shimmering contours, whose charm is irresistible.