As the year draws to a close, virtuoso pianist Yacine Malek presents his album, “Live in Paris” at the Studio de l’Ermitage, revealing the many colors of his palette from the very first solo track, Like Brazil, a tribute to Michel Petrucciani.

Rhythms, melodies, Mediterranean influences from the Maghreb to the gates of the Orient, all the pretexts and means are brought together to create a strong bond with the audience with a great deal of spontaneity.

And it works!

Because this is not jazz for musicians only, but jazz that the musicians address first and foremost to the audience – who come away from Yacine Malek‘s concerts totally enthusiastic. As the pianist-composer points out: “I give myself constantly and fully every time I go on stage… to touch people at their deepest level and move them.” And he succeeds.

Yacine Malek is not only an excellent instrumentalist, but also a composer, arranger, improviser and leader.

The genesis of this “Live in Paris” is original, to say the least: the Yacine Malek Double Trio was born “by force of circumstance” because of Covid and the confinement that disrupted the lives of many musicians (and people in general). The year was 2021. Some musicians, like monks in their cells, compose in the privacy of their homes, while others, sometimes with a self-signed piece of paper in their pocket, roam the streets of Paris, meeting in small groups in secret locations to continue interacting and creating.

Sometimes exasperated, like so many other musicians, Yacine Malek takes to the stage with Linley Marthe and Karim Ziad for a live streaming session at Le Regard du Cygne. (in Paris)

The trio’s aim: to rediscover the sensations of being on stage, even if the live streaming audience remains virtual.

Add to this the flavors and thrills of the extraordinary and the clandestine… The concert tracks are then preserved and the road to the album is open!

Perhaps this explains the flashes of extra energy that flow from the album’s six tracks.

This is an album you need to get hold of as a matter of urgency, even if confinement is no longer the order of the day and Covid is no longer wreaking havoc on the finally inoculated population.

But above all, you’ve got to go and listen to Yacine Malek‘s double trio, with its exceptional musicians, live on stage at the Studio de L’Ermitage on Thursday, December 12, 2024, for this exceptional launch concert.

To get your tickets!