Rémi Toulon – Cedar Walton, Rendez-vous

Cedar Walton, who would have turned 90 on January 17 of this year, is one of the most emblematic jazz pianists of the second half of the last century.

Less flamboyant than other virtuosos of the black and white keys, he was able to put his harmonic science at the service of the greats, his most famous session undoubtedly being with John Coltrane on Giant Steps.

Having teamed up with some of the greatest blowers in history, he initially gave his keyboard a rhythmic orientation, before his efforts as a leader led him to develop a complexity that would develop right to the end of his career.

The Rémi Toulon‘s initiative, a talented pianist who is a strong advocate of jazz in France, consists in replaying 30 of his finest pieces on his Youtube channel, over a period of one month, to enable all fans to recall the unrivalled composing talent of Cedar Walton, the originator of several standards such as “Fantasy in D“, “Bolivia“, or “Cedar’s Blues“….

And every day for 30 days, one of these tracks will be broadcast exclusively on Couleurs Jazz Radio.

In this respect, it’s impossible not to see parallels with the skills of Wayne Shorter, who is also instantly recognizable and consistent in his quality, although Cedar Walton differs from him in the greater proportion of blues in the tracks he signs with his pen.

Rémi Toulon, who explores the mysterious relationships between world music, mutually enriching each other to the point of giving birth to fertile new currents, takes up this heritage with force, accompanied by brilliant musicians from the Paris jazz scene, at the end of an approach that is grounded, in the strongest sense of the word, with explorations that find part of their substance in the art of revisiting roots, freeing oneself from them, surpassing them to better liberate art from the enclosed space that saw its birth.

We’d like to thank him here, if only for the desire he gives us to go and listen to these classics again, but also for the singular achievement of a musical collective with variable geometry, celebrating the synergy of jazz in a plurality of stylistic configurations.

Rémi Toulon’s project:

From January 17 to February 17 2024: 30 compositions of Cedar Walton: piano solo / duo / trio / quartet / quintet / sextet broadcast in the early evening from January 17 to February 17 on its channel www.youtube.com/@remitoulon, + Facebook and Instagram relays

In parallel, exclusive broadcasts at 8pm each day, and at 2am (Paris time) for our American friends on Couleurs Jazz Radio.

Line Up:

Rémi Toulon (piano)

Bruno Rousselet (bass)

Jean-Baptiste Loutte (drums)

Christian Brun (guitar)

Vincent Frade (drums)

Jean-Luc Arramy (bass)

Renan Richard (sop sax)

Côme Huveline (drums)

Patricia Grégoire (tap dance)

Eddy Rabeson (bass)