Joëlle Léandre & Evan Parker – Long Bright Summer

Although they have frequently worked together over the years—including in the bands of British guitarist Derek Bailey and American saxophonist Anthony Braxton—Joëlle Léandre and Evan Parker had never recorded as a duo.

This concert was recorded at a festival in the south of France in 2023, and the rapport between the two partners—who co-composed the entire repertoire—is evident. Léandre makes extensive use of bowing, which allows her to hold the note in parallel with the sounds produced by Parker‘s saxophones. And it is indeed in terms of sound that the collaboration between the two partners is most striking. Each of them has a highly personal tone and phrasing, and the frequently repetitive structures favored by the saxophonist find an ideal complement in the melodic lines produced by the double bassist. Free music—and therefore liberating—certainly, but music in which each instrument sings in its own way, which, while it may seem difficult to follow for fans of more conventional jazz, will bring delight and delightful surprises to anyone open to other ways of conceiving melody. For you have to listen actively to appreciate the interweaving of these two major voices which, going beyond the simple virtuosity of which they are both capable, achieve a unique and captivating sound construction that cannot be heard anywhere else. That two musicians who have reached such an incomparable technical level on their instruments are capable of such stunning simplicity is a remarkable feat. And the last piece in the repertoire—where Léandre sings to complement her double bass playing—brings the concert to a beautiful conclusion, where the meeting of these two talents is in fact obvious.

Line up:

Joëlle Léandre: double bass, vocals

Evan Parker: tenor and soprano saxophone

Long Bright Summer was released by RogueArt on December 9, 2025.