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Hit Couleurs JAZZ

The omnipresence of the New World in terms of jazz sometimes makes us forget a few gem releases which remind us that France is not left behind, and that this old rock is still agile, intuitive and inventive, like this delivery from the Neil Saidi Quintet with Noé Codjia.

On personal compositions, the Saïdi-Codjia association, which has already found its mark within the Zoot Collectif, takes us this time on paths that invariably bring to mind the Jazz Messengers. With a rhythm that holds the stage high, the two wind players complement each other by competing on very sharp choruses in Indi-gêne succession and even allow themselves the luxury of shining in enharmonic Covidex Perplex.

Today’s hard-bop sounds like yesterday’s hard-bop. There’s not a single wrinkle in the interpretation and velocity of the themes highlighted by both the writing and the technical solidity of the “reed and mouth” duo. This is a solid quintet, with a very appropriate rhythm section.

Audiences well-versed in the world of hard-bop will find in this recording a current must-have of the style, in which we perceive that the refined ears of the musicians have both revered the references without indulging in pale imitation, and at the same time produced a daring contemporary interpretation. As classical musicians like to play on period instruments, listening to this record you can almost hear the smoke wafting from the patrons of Minton’s Playhouse or Three Deuces...

Meanwhile, Noé Huchard on piano gives us a Kabalevsky Monkien on Dodécabulle and our two blowers from Golson’s Jazztet on Cali. A visit, not a revisit, which lends this recording a high value of well-played writing in every sense of the word.

When it comes to references, listening to Cream’s Cri is like hanging a contemporary art painting in the Louvre’s gallery of Greek antiquities, or moving the MoMA to 52nd Street if you prefer…

And to top it all off, God Save the Changes takes us not far from New Orleans. Associate Dizzy with Buddy Bolden, why not…

For the French cultural exception: haute couture for hard-boppers.

Line Up:

Noé Codjia – trumpet

Neil Saidi – tenor saxophone

Noé Huchard – piano

Luca Fattorini – double bass

Malte Arndal – drums

Indi-Gêne ? was released by the label Zoot Records on April 4,  2025.

It is a  Hit Couleurs Jazz and a Best of the Month, on Couleurs Jazz Radio.

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