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It’s no secret that the “singing madman” had a long love affair with jazz, and swing in particular.

So, it’s hardly surprising that three jazz musicians have decided to take up his repertoire, swinging it and peppering it with solos. And what a great idea for Guillaume de Chassy, the mastermind behind this project, to invite André Minvielle – another singing madman from the South of France, like Trénet – and saxophonist Géraldine Laurent to join him, whose fruity timbre and sometimes fluid, sometimes bouncy phrasing sound like a third voice in this highly cantabile project.

For De Chassy – whose piano has an eminently vocal sound – maintains a perfectly coherent restraint throughout the disc: almost no solos, but an accompaniment of stunning harmonic, rhythmic and melodic beauty, thanks to an impressively subtle playing style.

We know that the pianist was originally classically trained. If it shines through here, it’s always in its best light: a crystalline touch here, more robust there, and always of remarkable finesse. Minvielle inhabits the Trénet tunes with tender or powerful vocals, phrasing that perfectly respects the lyrics and, in places, a scorching scat of the best effect.

As for Géraldine, she seems born to interpret these songs, laying down solos of resplendent inventiveness and stunning lyricism over their harmonic framework.

All in all, these three bring Trénet’s songs back to life in a beautiful and aesthetically convincing way. So much so that one wonders why so few French jazzmen/women have had the idea of tapping into this incomparable melodic crucible where humor, love of the French language and the art of song vibrate together for eternity.

Line up:

Guillaume de Chassy: piano

André Minvielle: vocal

Géraldine Laurent: alto sax

Trénet en Passant,  produced by La Complexe Articole de Déterritorialisation,  was released on September 13, 2024.

Photo Header© Jeff Ludovicus

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