Out April 19 on Bee Jazz

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, France’s Orchestre National de Jazz (ONJ), an initiative of the French Ministry of Culture, has appointed artistic directors who have successfully chronicled the musical history of this unique organization through nine different projects. In 2009, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Daniel Yvinec was appointed to head the ONJ, and is the first artistic director to do this under a renewable three-year mandate.

The Orchestre National de Jazz’s 2009 critically-acclaimed release under the direction of Yvinec, Around Robert Wyatt, was a tribute to the English prog rock vocalist-drummer of Soft Machine that recast his compositions into a jazz setting. Following on the heels of that ambitious project is Shut Up And Dance (release date April 19, 2011 on Bee Jazz), a two-disc set of progressive big band music featuring the compositions of John Hollenbeck, the American composer, drummer and leader of contemporary jazz group the Claudia Quintet.

Produced in New York, Paris, Berlin and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Shut Up And Dance emphasizes the relationship between music and movement. John Hollenbeck’s compositions, inspired specially for this program, stem from an extensive collaboration with Daniel Yvinec and reveal the excitement and body of classical works, in a series of ten mini-concertos, each one dedicated to a different orchestra musician tailored to their unique personality and language.

Rhythm, in all aspects of expression, is spotlighted, at times even where least expected: a ping pong ball bouncing across piano wire, miscellaneous objects mistreated by computer software, instrument keys, hands rubbing, PVC tubes morphing into melodies. Percussion is everywhere, a bona fide sequence of powerful melodic passages that blend the shades of a repeating musical sound, pygmy music, art music, electronic music, not to overlook a Gnawas’ trance or a Duke Ellington swing. The wind instruments drive the beat, while the prepared piano moves onto the percussion side of the orchestra. It’s all about the idea of movement, conveyed in these mesmerizing rhythms.

Yvinec imagines his orchestra as being carried forward by ten young emerging talents with original and adventurous profiles. Unearthing new talent has always been one of the Orchestre National de Jazz’s strong points, and these multi-instrumentalists are also composers and arrangers keen to explore collective music-making in all its forms.

The Musicians:

Eve Risser (piano, prepared piano, flutes); Vincent Lafont (keyboards, electronics); Antonin-Tri Hoang (alto saxophone, clarinets, piano); Rémi Dumoulin (tenor saxophone, clarinets); Matthieu Metzger (saxophones, electronic treatments); Joce Mienniel (flutes, electronics); Sylvain Bardiau (trumpet); Pierre Perchaud (guitars, banjo); Sylvain Daniel (electric bass); Yoann Serra (drums)

Orchestra National de Jazz / Photo credit: Annabelle Tiaffay

Artistic director Daniel Yvinec intends to give the Orchestre National de Jazz a transversal dimension and take it along a new path. To do so, he will accord equal importance to workshops and pedagogy, so that the orchestra, strong in its ambition, will reach out to new audiences.

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