Festival Jazz en Place – 08/26 to 09/01/24 – Pays de Dinan

Among all the jazz festivals held in Brittany every summer, there’s one that’s perhaps less well known than others, but which has certain characteristics that deserve a closer look: duration, organisation, programming and territorial reach.

It is Jazz en Place festival 

which has just celebrated its 18th edition and takes place over a whole week on the road in the Dinan region of the Côtes d’Armor.

He proved that he had indeed risen from the status of a promising musician to become the undisputed masterpiece of the young generation on this instrument.

The repertoire, essentially made up of his own compositions, delighted the audience, who praised the flexibility, daring and complicity with which the three musicians interweave their approach, and the joyful mischief with which they elevate their interpretation and carry us into their spheres.

There’s a stimulating combination of the obvious and the demanding, which makes us believe in the end of a piece when it’s just a suspension, or in a suite when a virtuoso slide on the piano links two independent pieces.

With these three musicians, the music swirls, twirls, and makes for intense yet delightful listening. A genuine invitation to share.

One last anecdote: before playing a very recent, untitled composition, Noé invited the audience to come and make suggestions to him at the end of the concert.

One of them, ‘Le courtil des Senteurs’, the name of the rose garden where the evening took place, may well be chosen. Overall, we’re delighted with this trio’s music and its fragrances, which reveal delicacy, suavity and sweet intoxication.

Line Up:

Noé Huchard, piano

Clément Daldosso, doublbass

Donald Kontomanou, drums

Gaël Horellou « Organ Power » – Thursday August 29 at Pleudihen sur Rance

When it came time to take to the stage, the lead saxophonist was missing.

The echo of an already swinging warm-up led us to find him under a tree away from the tumult of the 400 or so spectators. Unaware of the time or the absence of his bandmates, he quickly returned to his group and opened the evening with an exalted performance that immediately gave the feeling that a great moment had just begun.

Fiercely groovy, the quintet didn’t deny this initial impression, with acclaimed solos from all three wind players – a joy to appreciate the density and commitment of a sax alto, tenor and trombone section that doesn’t come along very often, a flawless drive from the drummer on the fast tempos and layers of sound from the organ that injected a touch of blues into the quieter moments.

The result was a jubilant piece of music drawing on the roots of jazz history, performed with sometimes breathtaking ‘free’ élans in a fraternal communion.

Line Up:

Gaël Horellou: Sax alto

Simon Girard: trombone

David Sauzay: sax ténor

Florent Gac: Hammond organ

Antoine Paganotti: drums

Géraldine Laurent Quartet – Saturday August 31 at Dinan

Heard three weeks earlier at the Langourla Festival in a duo with Laurent de Wilde, the violist crowned with two jazz victories in 2023, was back in Brittany this time with her four-star Cooking quartet. We couldn’t wait to sit down to dinner..

And indeed these four musicians delighted us without delay. Virtuoso bursts from the sax with a few quick-fire solos, precision and smoothness from the double bassist, spicy flashes from the pianist and, all smiles and relaxation, impeccable musicality, precision and diversity from the drummer, right up to an impressively vigorous solo at the very end of the concert, which reminded us that a good meal should be savoured right down to the last bite.

The experience of this quartet is evident in this repertoire, which is well practised but retains all its freshness.

Line Up:

Géraldine Laurent: sax alto

Paul Lay: piano

Yoni Zelnik: doublebass

Donald Kontomanou: drums

©Photos Philippe Colliot

Translated with the help of www.DeepL.com/Translator