Notes that love one another
[ A history of music as you've never heard it ]
''Did you know that the first microgroove was in invented in an egyptian pyramid ?"
"Why do singers with high-pitched voices drive girls crazy ?"
"Is the expression ''Dumb like a tenor'' justified by the laws of acoustics ?"
"How did the execution of Robespierre trigger the birth of Jazz ?''
"La Sultane" - (Du piano solo au 4tet)
Music has its cycles and its refrains. It is made up of obsessions. Those that permeate André Manoukian's records are mapped out between the continents of the Caucasus and the Orient. With La Sultane, the pianist continues the exploration of his Armenian roots, which he began five albums ago.
After Anouch (2022), dedicated to his grandmother who survived the Armenian genocide, André Manoukian continues to pay tribute to his family. “Ma sultane” is what my mother used to call my little sister before showering her with kisses," the musician confides. “The boys could be heard whispering ‘my Pasha’. Turkish words to express the overflowing love of Armenian mothers for their children.” The pianist transcends the borders that divide and turn peoples into enemies. This is undoubtedly why he takes refuge in jazz, which he describes as “the music of exiles.” With La Sultane, André Manoukian experiments. He questions the genres of improvisation, jazz, traditional, sacred, and classical music, accompanied by the Orchestre Appassionato, conducted by Mathieu Herzog. He searches for notes, circles around them, and dialogues with them.
(Line up: Piano, cello, double bass, and tablas)
Between duel and duo Jean-Francois Zygel and André Manoukian
No holds barred in the duel between André Manoukian and Jean-François Zygel. When it comes to repartee (pianistic and verbal), the two protagonists are not to be outdone! But don't worry, the battle is rather good-natured and light-hearted!
Each at his own keyboard, sometimes adversaries, sometimes accomplices, the two musicians play a furious game of notes. Nourished by variations and improvisations, their tribulations cross paths with Bach, Beethoven, Brel, Bill Evans, Mozart and Duke Ellington. André Manoukian and Jean-François Zygel are both gifted with words, piano, humor, expression, a passion for music and an extraordinary talent for transmission. There's no doubt about it: they have fun on stage, and they'll have fun for you too.