Michel Portal […] est d’abord un musicien classique, qui vous chante Brahms au petit-déjeuner, vous parle de Jelly Roll Morton, de la sensation que fait une note bleue quand elle s’assombrit. «J’ai toujours dit que je ne voulais pas jouer comme Charlie Parker ou Coleman Hawkins. C’est ridicule. Je n’en suis pas capable. Pour être futuriste, il faut avoir une liberté incroyable.» - Arnaud Robert, Le Temps
For half a century now, Michel Portal has been skilfully exploring the crossroads of classical, film and jazz music. In the adventurous vein of his famous Unit in perpetual renewal, he now brings together a jubilant international quintet.
Singular, atypical, above all a musician, but escaping all classifications, Michel Portal is an extraordinary personality, as remarkable in the classical repertoire (Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Berg...) as in the contemporary creation of which he is a privileged partner (Boulez, Stockausen, Berio, Kagel, Globokar...).
This madly virtuoso instrumentalist is an impediment to going around in circles, an activist of exchange with all possible musical personalities, constantly seeking the encounter that will lead him off the beaten track, breaking all established formulas and clichés.
This year, it is a creation, a new encounter, unique, where, with the support of two famous fellow travellers, Bojan Z and Bruno Chevillon, he invites one of the greatest trombonists of today, the German Nils Wogram, and the revelation of the current European scene, the young Belgian Lander Gyselinck.
Bojan Zulfikarpasic (Bojan Z), a pianist with a powerful and innovative playing, an orchestra of its own. His music is inspired both by the Balkan culture from which he comes and by bebop standards.
Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1968, he has been playing the piano since the age of 5. He began studying classical piano, which was soon disrupted by the discovery of the Beatles at the age of 6. His journey was a joyful one and is still going on to this day. Rewarded many times by the world of jazz, he cunningly escapes any classification. A true pioneer in the mixing of jazz and Balkan music, since his first album in 1993 (Bojan Z Quartet), his approach has paved the way and inspired so many upcoming musicians.
Widely acclaimed by critics for his stunning virtuosity and exceptional style, he likes to embrace popular and scholarly music in the same movement, to put his own original touch to it. A piano sound easily recognisable, regardless of the context in which he performs, with his numerous bands, or with Michel Portal, Paolo Fresu, Henri Texier, Julien Lourau, Nils Wogram, Nguyen Lé, Karim Ziad or Amira, the Bosnian singer of whom he has been arranger and director for 10 years.
Evolving on the borders of improvised music, contemporary creation and free jazz, BrunoChevillon has established himself as one of the major voices of the double bass, combining with remarkable assurance the virtues both of an accompanist with a determining presence and of an improviser capable of exploring the expressive possibilities of his instrument to the very depths. Highly sought-after by the main players on the French scene (Louis Sclavis, Daniel Humair, Michel Portal, in particular), he embodies the extension of the emancipation of the double bass in the improvised gesture he initiates, with an elegance and freshness which seems to have no great equivalent.
Nils Wogram is one of the most important jazz musicians in Europe. He performs at many important festivals and tours all over the world with his own bands.
Nils Wogram's music is strongly rooted in the jazz tradition. Nevertheless, he tries to find new ways to extend this language by using chords, forms, melodic and rhythmic material from other musical genres than jazz. Nils is a huge fan of authentic bands that have a unique band sound. He believes that the best music in history has been played by workgroups. In this sense, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis are his role models as band leaders.
Lander Gyselinck belongs to the circle of jazz musicians in Flanders who have been shaking up the scene and dusting off jazz for the past few years. Known as the drummer of STUFF., BeraadGeslagen, LABtrio and a range of other jazz-related projects, he likes to venture into experimental territory, usually with one leg in improvisation and the other in electronics.
Kulturpass welcome! Reserve at (+352) 51 61 21 - 2942
We are happy to welcome you back at our venue!
Currently our events take place in compliance with strict security and hygiene measures. For this reason each visitor will be assigned a seat and the use of a mask wll be mandatory during your visit. Our events will end no later than 22h00 which will give you enough time to comply with the curfew of 23h00.
In order to ensure social distancing, there will only be a very limited number of seats available. We therefore recommend that you buy your seat in advance.
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