Joachim Caffonnette Trio - Vers L'azur Noir (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Pianist and composer from Brussels, Joachim Caffonnette, introduces his second album as a band leader with VERS L’AZUR NOIR.

Referring to a poem by Rimbaud and the tragedy of migrants who hope to cross the Mediterranean, this album takes us back to one of the most classic yet flexible formations in the history of jazz: the piano trio.

This new production consists of 9 titles, including 6 original compositions by Joachim Caffonnette, two classic rock songs and a cover of Thelonious Monk. The album was recorded in two steps: the first six titles were recorded in November 2017 at Jet Studio, while in September 2018 the last three titles were recorded in Brussels. This was a result of the desire to combine the precision of a studio recording with the spontaneity of a jazz concert.

After the first album as part of the quintet, Joachim met the French musicians, Alex Gibson (b) and Jean-Baptiste Pinet (dr), with whom he felt an instant musical connection. The trio were on tour for a year and a half before they started recording VERS L’AZUR NOIR. This album captures a journey between the harmonic complexity that characterises the work of the composers and the search for the significance of the simplicity of the chosen melodies. The whole work oscillates between written parts (A Mawda, Perspectives, Inner Necessity) and great freedom (Tripoli’s Sorrow, Monk’s Dream).

Tracklist:
1. Perspectives 04:44
2. Inner Necessity 04:54
3. Tripoli's Sorrow 04:34
4. Hey Jude 07:33
5. Vers L'azur Noir 06:11
6. Sugar Man 03:59
7. A Mawda 04:41
8. Monk's Dream 07:53
9. Jax and Reddy 07:05

Personnel:
Joachim Caffonnette, piano
Alex Gilson, bass
Jean-Baptiste Pinet, drums