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Denis Lavant, Lionel Martin and JJB

Lionel Martin and Jean-Jacques Birgé had been dreaming of this meeting for a long time. All had juggled their schedules, and on November 21, the snowstorm turned into a soundstorm thanks to a recording at Studio GRRR with Denis Lavant. The actor had brought along six incredible texts by little-known French writers, raw, poetic and moving works. The trio played as a live concert, improvising freely as the sound invaded the studio. It was truly rock 'n roll, gripping, electric! Lionel was on tenor sax with effects, Jean-Jacques on keyboard and loads of weird instruments, Denis even punctuated his powerful evocations with a little flute tune, a musical snail or a Tibetan horn. In all, 118 minutes of rare intensity. A record is obviously very tempting ;-)

Another new CD : TCHAK by UDMI

TCHAK, recorded between 1998 and 2000 by Jean-Jacques Birgé, brings together the last recordings of Un Drame Musical Instantané with trumpeter Bernard Vitet, its co-founder in 1976 with Francis Gorgé and him. The guitarist left the group in 1992, but rejoined in 2014. Together with Birgé and writer Dominique Meens, Gorgé is preparing a new album in the fictional spirit of the original group. For TCHAK resembles nothing the Drame had ever produced, which is hardly surprising given the sheer variety and surprise of their works, from their instantaneous compositions to works written for their large band or symphony orchestras, from their film-concerts, for which they were at the origin of this revival, to their particularly eccentric musical theater pieces...

TCHAK is a kind of electro funk that begins with Le silence éternel des espaces infinis m'effraie, a duet between Birgé on machines and Vitet on flugelhorn, whose magnificent sound is legendary. This is followed by six tracks on which they are joined by guitarist Philippe Deschepper and turntablist Nem: Stomp, (roots), Gaza, 1936, Vir-us. Vitet also dabbles in reggy, while Birgé plays synthesizer and sampler, reed trumpet and nose flute, erhu and Theremin.

This Drame, here fundamentally instrumental, closes with Machiavel Meeting, recorded live at Glaz'Art during a memorable evening that turned into a riot when so many people could not come in on November 18, 1998, for the launch party of the Machiavel CD. The quartet is joined by Yves Robert on trombone, Hervé Legeay on electric guitar, Didier Petit on cello, Olivier Koechlin on double bass and Étienne Auger on groovebox.

Étienne Mineur designed the superb cover.

New CD : Animal Opera

Whether or not you're one of the lucky 200,000 who owned a Nabaztag rabbit or attended Nabaz'mob, the opera for 100 smart rabbits, you'll love Animal Opera, the new CD by Jean-Jacques Birgé. His recording this summer in Peru of L'aube à Shimiyacu (Dawn at Shimiyacu) in the Amazon rainforest inspired him to accompany it with two different versions of the opera he imagined with Antoine Schmitt in 2006. Each hutch had its own autonomy, just as each rabbit had its own free will. The fairy-tale, minimalist music of the 100 plastic robots contrasts with the noise or drone music produced by the elytra of strange insects. After a hundred or so albums, most recently his 100th Anniversary (1952-2052) and the 3 volumes of Pique-nique au labo with 48 soloists, this is Birgé's first album without any musicians, even at the controls. Absorbed in nature or entrusting the wi-fi to conduct an orchestra of a hundred mini-synthesizers, the polymath once again rediscovers the magic of his instant compositions.

Also on Bandcamp

Nabaz'mob website

APÉRO LABO #6 on December 8 at Studio GRRR


Sunday December 8 at 5 p.m., Studio GRRR, concert of the trio with JJB on machines,  Catherine Delaunay on clarinet and Roberto Negro on piano. If you wish to come, write and we'll answer!

Apéro Labo 5 is on line

Titres, a new album is already available to listen to and download free of charge, recorded live on October 13, 2024 at Studio GRRR by JJB, with Hélène DURET on clarinets, Alexandre SAADA on piano and JJB...