Leïla Olivesi – African Rhapsody

On this third octet album, Leila Olivesi confirms her talents as a composer and master of orchestral colors.

It must be said that with the musicians she has chosen, it would be difficult to go wrong. Each of the wind players—all leaders of their own group(s)—has a personal tone that they put at the service of the leader. We know of her admiration for Duke Ellington—whose magnificent ballad “Fleurette Africaine” she revisits here in trio form—and we sense that, like her prestigious elder, Leïla Olivesi writes her arrangements with soloists in mind who have been loyal to her for several years.

Leading a band of this kind is no easy task in the current climate, but it is clear that with such wonderful stories to tell and partners of this caliber, the desire to continue the adventure must be irresistible.

Furthermore, Baptiste Herbin (replaced on one track by Olga Amelchenko), Jean-Charles Richard, Adrien Sanchez, Quentin Gohmari, and Manu Codjia clearly take great pleasure in delivering inventive solos over the harmonies provided by the bandleader.

For this third album, Leïla Olivesi has also placed an emphasis on melody and, more specifically, vocals, inviting Camille Bertault to perform on two tracks and the vocal ensemble Poetic Birds on four others, which conclude the repertoire.

The result is a contrasting landscape offered by a fully mature musician who, while remaining faithful to a tradition of writing and arranging for medium-sized ensembles that she continues to develop beautifully, displays a modernity that gives her music a timeless quality that is difficult to remain indifferent to.