PIERRICK PEDRON « THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME »

Photo : Philippe Levy-Stab

With no concessions whatsoever, Pierrick continues his unstoppable ascent, exploring a jazz increasingly deep, spiritual, communicative, virtuoso and modern. This singular force places him today among the great international soloists and offers him a special place with the emblematic leaders of the European scene.

Alongside with an abundant record production, Pierrick Pedron has been scouring the stages since 2019 at the head of a French quartet, composed of the essential double bassist Thomas Bramerie (Toots Thielemans, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jacky Terrasson), a 30-year partner, and of two captivating actors of the new scene, pianist Carl-Henri Morisset (Archie Shepp, Arnaud Dolmen…) and drummer Elie Martin-Charrière (Robinson Khoury, Mark Priore…).

Over the years, this inter-generational quartet has been able to develop an outstanding “living (jazz) together”. In the great tradition of passing on, the blatant maturity of some mingles with the magmatic vitality of the others. The whole then becomes a unique entity, moving, interconnected, creative and demanding, highly superior to the sum of its parts.

As the witness of one of those grace-filled moments the group offers on stage, artistic director Daniel Yvinec proposes a new mountain to climb. Why not confront the impossible and revisit “The Shape of Jazz to Come”, one of Ornette Coleman’s pivotal records, recorded in 1959. The original work offers a significant number of chinks and open windows through which the quartet will be able to rush. Appending harmonies to Ornette’s music proves to be a perilous project in many respects. Laurent Courthaliac, the “master harmonist”, gets down to work and imagines with Pedron and Yvinec a thousand ways to transfigure the manifesto album.

Immersing himself in the world of Ornette, the sax player will dissect its adornments and phrasings, write back its solos, adopt the slightest fluctuations to the point of reconsidering his own way of playing the saxophone. Driven by the same force, the same desire, all the partners involved plunge into the original material and remodel it in their own image. At the end of the adventure, the indisputable uniqueness of an extraordinary quartet comes to light. All Ornette’s themes are here, but they are re-ordered, their architecture is transfigured … Each track, like a treasure hunt, allows us to celebrate the very essence of the original work: a fierce desire to always reassert freedom and to draw collectively the outlines of a common future.

Line-up :
Pierrick Pédron – Saxophone
Carl-Henri Morisset – Piano
Thomas Bramerie – Double Bass
Elie Martin-Charrière – Drums

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REDUCED PRICE : For more information, please contact the Maison des Arts et de la Danse – Jean Moulin : 05 55 35 04 10 / scene-conventionnee-danse@operalimoges.fr or the Grand Théâtre of Limoges : 05 55 45 95 95 / billetterie@operalimoges.fr