Trumpet and accordion in duo—an obvious pairing if you've been fortunate enough to hear their sinuous lines fill the nave of a cathedral, as at Coutances, or whisper within a more intimate setting.
Between Airelle Besson's trumpet and Lionel Suarez's reeds, the music unfolds with the naturalness of a wing beat. Forget who accompanies whom; they proceed as one. Sometimes sotto voce, in confidence; often hugging the melody, with delicately articulated lyricism; always in perfect accord, to support and prolong one another. What strikes you most is that when one recedes, the other insinuates itself into the space rather than overwhelming it, sketching an expectation, underlining what connects the dots of suspension.
It takes tremendous wisdom, humility and mastery to converse in this manner without surrendering dynamism, contrast or rhythmic variation. And to play as much with one's ears as with one's fingers. Twenty years they have known each other: first in 2006 on La Tectonique des nuages, conceived by Laurent Cugny, then more durably within the Quarteto Gardel (with Vincent Ségal and Minino Garay) from 2009 onwards. The experience of duo work was inaugurated in 2016 during Airelle's residency at Jazz sous les Pommiers. So it was in full maturity, enriched by ten years of meaningful exchange and refined repertoire, that they decided to enter the studio.
Yet nothing was predetermined. Lionel Suarez, who has worked in song, theatre and film, marked by decisive encounters with Claude Nougaro and Jean Rochefort, has crossed paths with so many artists that one could compile a veritable inventory, all of them having found in him an ideal partner. But throughout this trajectory rich with a thousand encounters, one path never faltered: that of jazz. In his proximity to Sylvain Luc, the stages he has shared with Richard Bona, Didier Lockwood, the ONJ and so many others, he pursues it with full conviction. His meeting with André Minvielle would crystallise all of this, between virtuosity and poetry.
For Airelle Besson, it was necessary to break free from the historical trumpet-piano duos (Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines, Clark Terry & Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker & Paul Bley), to build upon her duo with guitarist Nelson Veras ("Prélude", 2014) and to extend her rapport with Rhoda Scott's organ, before allowing herself to be intoxicated by the breath of the accordion.
They shared out the repertoire, refined over the years, and were keen to open the album with the first piece they ever played together, "Blossom"—a spring breeze, a spontaneous flowering. Also composed by Airelle, "Kyoto in the Mist", born from the trumpeter's sojourn in the imperial city, an ode to the sweetness of life, and "The Race", drawn from the musical score of three burlesque short films by Fatty Arbuckle featuring Buster Keaton, a concert film still in circulation. For his part, Lionel Suarez had composed "Without a Forwarding Address" for the theatrical piece "Ici Nougaro", with Grégory Montel, and "J-Day at H-Hour" for a film by Jean-Henri Meunier. "The Blue Tiles" is a nod to his late friend Régis Gizavo, the Malagasy accordionist and singer. And three pieces were born in the studio, at the end of a session. Two improvisations which they co-signed, "Lontano" and "Resonances", as if dropped from the heavens. And "Passing Through", a trumpet solo which serves as the intro, as it miraculously ends on the first note of "The Blue Tiles"…
As for the three covers, they speak volumes about the inspirations of the two friends: "Answer Me" was recorded twice by Keith Jarrett during his final European tour in 2016. "Ida Lupino" imposed itself quite naturally. A theme they both cherish. They imagined their reinterpretation as a triple salute: to Carla Bley, with whom Airelle had the good fortune to perform in the Liberation Music Orchestra, to Michel Portal and his masterly reinterpretation on "Dockings", and to the audacity of Ida Lupino—a free-spirited and inspiring figure. With "Au Lait", a game of mirrors is established: imagining that Metheny/Mays had drawn inspiration from the Fellini–Rota partnership, the trumpet-accordion couple revives all the colours of Cinecittà.
Blossom, as from day one.
Alex Dutilh
1. Blossom
2. Kyoto Dans La Brume
3. Sans Laisser d'Adresse
4. Answer Me
5. La Course
6. Ida Lupino
7. Lontano
8. Le Jour J À L'Heure H
9. Au Lait
10. De Passage
11. Les Tuiles Bleues
12. Résonances
