AMAURY FAYE & IGOR GEHENOT / Amaury Faye X Igor Gehenot / N° cat. HR023 - UPC 5059962822415
Considered as one of the most promising pianists of his generation, Amaury Faye personifies the new wave of jazz made in France. He displays his skills as a great improviser, an inspired melodist and a fascinating storyteller. Merging idioms and ideas is at the heart of his musical concept whether it be in composition, performance or improvisation. His attention to the architecture of each song, mixing the written and the improvised makes his music strong and makes it flow naturally, allowing for expression and emotion.
"He is a very creative pianist and composer. His work is consistently top level, very musical and intriguing."
Joanne Brackeen - Internationally acclaimed jazz pianist
Igor Gehenot, a pianist in his early thirties, has gradually carved a reputation for himself as a major talent on the Belgian and European jazz scene. This promising young pianist from Liège has increasingly positioned himself as a leader in recent years. He shows a tangible sense of adventure and commitment, together with delicacy, spaciousness and an exquisite sense of interplay.
"Gehenot already has it all, touch, taste, technique, a masterful understanding of harmony, rhythmic drive but most of all a melodic lyricism that makes everything he does sound special. Nothing he plays is for gratuitous effect ; a spellbinding storyteller he makes even the simplest articulation sound special. (…) If Gehenot fulfills the huge promise he shows on this album, he could well be one of the big names of the future.” Stuart Nicholson - Jazzwise
How does one describe the beauty of this music? The simplicity with which it transports us, how it resonates with us. The enigmatic delicacy of its sound, the power and eloquence of its silence.
Without any of the overplaying or parading that one might expect from two pianists sitting face to face, Igor Gehenot and Amaury Faye sublimate vivid melodies, complementing each other gracefully. Their repertoire is diverse, from The Police to Chico Buarque, by way of their own remarkable and evocative compositions that sit somewhere between New York Jazz and Neo Bop.
A modern creative vision makes this album a canvas for musical exploration and the two poetic heartfelt voices blend seamlessly into a lyrical tapestry. With a ubiquitous european romanticism reminiscent of Chopin’s nocturnes, the revisited pop and bossa melodies take on a new tint, rich and delicate.
The spirit of Brazilian music is inevitably conjured up, not only due to their rendition of iconic pieces by Chico Buarque and Joao Bosco, or their hommage to the great melodicist Egberto Gismonti, but also because the sweet melancholy that fills the ballads of the album (Éternité, Pare A Pluie, Message In The Bottle, Bibo No Aozora) is the very definition of the elusive “Saudade”. This delicious nostalgia finds a home alongside energetic neo-bop exuberance (Egberto, Hudson river park, Magic ball). The classic and original material is a perfect fit for the soaring improvisations of this duo, enabling a playfully collaborative display of compositional skill and pianistic aptitude.
Spontaneity, intimacy and grace seem to radiate from these two artists and their brilliantly engaging music.
Recorded and mixed by Jonas Verrijdt at Piano Parisot in Toulouse, France
Mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studio in New York, USA
Produced by Giuseppe Millaci
Release date: March 25, 2022