Thursday, November 13, 2008

Louis and Francois Moutin: deux musiciens d' exception

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( Naar het Nederlands-Vlaamse deel met een jonge, Belgische jazzzangeres met een groot talent.)
LOUIS & FRANCOIS MOUTIN: TWO GREAT MUSICIANS
A few month ago I found a budget 2CD set in an remarkable cover by the French brothers Louis & Francois Moutin.

This 2CD doesn't acutally look like a 2CD set, but seems to be a bound booklet. The series of BD Jazz contains legendary American jazz musicians like Count Basie, Glenn Miller or Erroll Garner - all more of the same - not interesting for the most of us, but there was one album that fascinated me: Louis & Francois Moutin. Those names didn't fit into the list of 34 editions, so I bought myself a copy of these artists.
The booklet also contains a comic strip, a bande dessinée in French, with the story of their career; stories like how little Louis, joining a concert with his brother and parents in Les Trois Maillets in Le Quartier Saint Michel in Paris, was tapping the rhythm on the table at a concert of Memphis Slim, who predicts his career: Hey Young Fellow ! You're A Drummer. And about a concert at the Écoles d' Ingénieurs ( both Francois as Louis studied engineering), where they joined a concert by Jean-Michel Pilc; the skilled US-French piano player, and about the period that Francois and Louis were accompaning Martial Solal up to the foundation of The Moutin Reunion Quartet. I think, Francois Moutin made the drawings.
Louis & Francois Moutin - brothers, even twins, two French jazz musicians - still active; the oddman out in this series with legendary jazz names. Louis Moutin is the drummer. Born in Paris on the 24th of December 1961, started his career in the Machado Trio, before he founded a quartet with his twin brother and bass player Francois. Francois started his career as a bass player in the Martial Solal Trio, and played with numerous French and US artists like Richie Beirac, James Hurt, Frank Wess and Jeff Tain Watts to list some names, before he co-founded the Quintet Moutin with his brother.
Francois Moutin and Martial Solal ( North Sea Jazz Festival - Rotterdam July 2007 ( photo courtesy Hans Koert)
Ten years ago the Moutin Reunion Quartet was born; ten years later they have made four albums and performed at more then 300 concerts. In the booklet - cover you can find two of these records: Power Tree ( released in 2002 - recorded two years earlier) and Red Moon ( released and recorded 2003), both with their Moutin Reunion Quartet. This quartet features Francois Moutin on bass - Louis Moutin on drums - Babtiste Trotignon at the piano and Sylvain Beuf on tenor- and soprano saxophone ( on the Power Tree CD) and Rick Margitza, saxophone ( on the Red Moon album).
It is really amazing to listen to this quartet which brings some great jazz. Most of the tunes are composed by the Moutin brothers, like Toutes Directions and Africa or by the two brothers as individuals: Jazz Married, Elle Aime and A Bâtons Rompus by Louis Moutin and Flying Bridge, Apollo 13th and Soraya by Francois.
It is amazing to learn that they performed last years on ca. 50 concert, all in the US and in France. Tonight Francois Moutin will perform at the Café 't Schutttershof in Middelburg in the southwest part of The Netherlands as part of the Rudresh Mahanthappa Quartet. I heard Francois Moutin for the very first time as a member of the great Jean-Michel Pilc Trio, which performed at a concert in the Porgy en Bess Jazz Club in Terneuzen, in the southwest part of The Netherlands ( February 2002 ), featuring Ari Hoenig on drums and Francois Moutin on bass. To be honest - I only remember the great Jean-Michel Pilc on the keys who released a great album Welcome Home. Last year I joined a concert at the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam where both Louis as Francois accompanied Martial Solal and Lee Konitz in a performance at the Darling zaal ( 15th of July 2007).
A great budget album - try to get yourself a copy !!
Hans koert -
keepswinging@live.nl


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This daily Keep Swinging blog will reach its 1000th contribution within ten days. To celebrate this I love to repost some old interesting and favorite blogs. Please inform me what your favorite contribution is. I love to give a great Frank Rosolino album released by Lonehill Jazz to one of you, so please, send me your favorite. I you haven't done it - do it today. This week's your last chance. Send it to: keepswinging@live.nl
Keep swinging

Hans Koert


keepswinging@live.nl

JUNIOR JAZZ

Al surfend over het internet vond ik een tweetal schitterende filmfragmenten van een optreden van een jonge Belgische zangeres, toen twaalf jaar oud, genaamd Eline Van Coillie.

Deze zangeres, op een leeftijd, dat je niet zou verwachten al op zo'n hoog niveau jazz te zingen, trad op tijdens een Belgisch jeugdprogramma. Ik vond een tweetal fragmenten die uitgezonden zijn in het NCRV programma Man Bijt Hond en die ik julie zeker niet wil onthouden.


Ondertusen heeft deze jonge dame als twee CD's op haar naam staan en een drietal singels: Junior Jazz dateert van 2003 en Here It Comes van 2006. De singeltjes heten respectievelijk The Look of Love, Thirteen and Sweet en Daydreamer. Is het niet fantastisch en hoopgevend om deze jonge mensen op zo'n hoog niveau bezig zijn met muziek in het algemeen en jazz in het bijzonder? Ik wens Eline een grote carriere in de (jazz)muziek toe.

Hans Koert - keepswinging@live.nl
KEEPSWINGING.BLOGSPOT.COM 1000
Binnen nu en tien dagen, bereikt deze dagelijkse Keep Swinging blog haar 1000ste bijdrage. Stuur me de titel van jouw favoriete blog en win een Lonehill Jazz CD heruitgave van een paar mooie
Frank Rosolino platen uit de jaren vijftig. Als je dat nog niet gedaan hebt - weet dat deze week je laatste kans is. Kies jouw favoriete bijdrage gekozen uit de 990 voorgangers en stuur mij de titel of link toe: keepswinging@live.nl

Keep swinging

Hans Koert


keepswinging@live.nl

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great group, with my fellow eastsider Rick Margitza. They really brought down the house in Detroit a couple of years ago.

Al (NYC)

6:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Hans,

Thank you very much for your contribution.
Yes we like it !

Just for your info, Power Tree and Red Moon are the two first albums of the Moutin Reunion Quartet (released in 2000 and 2003).
The last two albums are Something Like Now (2005) and Sharp Turns (2007).
They both feature Pierre de Bethmann on piano and Rick Margitza on sax.
Sharp Turns is also a "dual disc" (one side is a audio album with new compositions and the other side is a DVD presenting a concert in Chicago performed in January 2007).

If ever you get to listen those albums I hope you'll like it !

Thanks again,
Best,
Louis & François Moutin

12:29 PM  

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