François Poitou – Old Folks – 06/10/25 at Sunset-Sunside, Paris.

François Poitou reunites with his pals for his new album “Old Folks” at Sunset Sunside on June 10, 2025

“We unleashed the guts of Jazz into the expanse of the beach
Against the walls of the earth and the dome of the sky.”

These opening lines by Portuguese poet Armando Da Silva Carvalho come to mind when listening to double bassist François Poitou’s new opus, so inviting does it seem to be to a journey into nature, where the crystalline notes of a string quartet support the poetic ricochets of a bass clarinet. François had already invited us to his underwater-inspired dives on his previous album, Le Sec et la Lune , with this same group. But where did his inspiration come from this time, as a syncretism between Max Richter, Eric Longworth and Mette Henriette came to my ears?

To find out, let’s meet at Le Naguère to talk about Old Folks. No chance.

CJ: Why Old Folks?
François Poitou: Actually, there are several reasons for the title. First of all, it’s a jazz standard. Then, after the Pumpkin album, I wanted to get back together with my buddies, my folks, for a new adventure. Also, when I took part in a tribute album to Simon and Garfunkel , I rediscovered the richness of their melodies and arrangements. Particularly on Scarborough Fair. So the idea came to me to do covers of folk songs. So, on this album, we have A Time in a Bottle, Scarborough Fair, Raglan Road and Wild Mountain Thyme, well-known folk songs that accompany my original compositions.

CJ: When we read the album tracks in their continuity, we get the impression that you’re taking us on a journey from the bottom of a garden to the seashore, via the exploration of a shipwreck and the contemplation of time as it changes…
François Poitou: Yes, I always try to build a story so that listening to the album is like taking a stroll in one go. I wrote this album partly in the Landes region, where I take refuge in winter. It’s a very inspiring region between land and ocean. And as I have a particular affection for Ireland, its cliffs facing the ocean and its vast green spaces are also very inspiring geographical universes for me.

CJ: And musically speaking, what musicians inspire you? I’ve heard Marx Richter for minimalist music, Eric Longsworth for musical wandering and Mette Henriette for the evocation of wide open spaces, but what about you?
François Poitou: I understand, but they’re not musicians I listen to regularly, and that’s not where I started from. I listen to a lot of American jazz, and Bill Frisell’s Sign of Life and Angel Song albums with Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell and Dave Holland were undoubtedly inspirational in the orchestration of this album and in this way of looking at jazz. But in Temple Bar, it was also Ravel’s “Trois poèmes de Mallarmé” that guided the work of the strings.

CJ: You’re surrounded by some magnificent musicians, so you have a very rich palette of colors. How would you describe them?
François Poitou: First and foremost, I’ve always written my arrangements according to the character and qualities of the musicians in the band I play with. But I also give them a great deal of freedom. So if these qualities were to be colors, I’d say: Red, for Bastien Ribot on violin, because he sets improvisation on fire. Green for Aude-Marie Duperret on viola, she’s very soothing. She’s a classical musician, the voice of reason and truth. Blue for Federico Casagrande on guitar. Blue as the grandeur of a sky, for he has an impressive overall vision of the piece when approached. Purple for Maxime Berton on bass clarinet and soprano. Because he’s blue and red at the same time.

But what color would define François Poitou? Technicolor, without a doubt.
Here’s a delightful, soothing album to be discovered on June 10, 2025 at Sunset-Sunside;
An album whose elegant, subtle cover art was created by artist Louh-Ann Alexandrenne.

Line Up:

François Poitou on double bass
Bastien Ribot on violin
Aude-Marie Duperret on viola
Maxime Berton on bass clarinet and soprano saxophone
Federico Casagrande on guitar

That’s all folks 😉