The singer, leader, arranger, and composer Sophianne Girard is a graduate of Sherbrooke and McGill Us. Si vivante (So alive) is her second discographic work. It is also an album brimming with influences intelligently filtered through the artist’s personality, as well as a vibrant program well anchored to its title. Yes, there is something existentially willful in the eight original tracks, which are woven with melodic interlacing tinged with sunny optimism, and above all, with texture crossovers that borrow from educated contemporary jazz, silky chamber music, and refined pop candor. Girard has a delicate and airy voice, her intonation is precise, with a surprising technical ease, despite her young age and often unpredictable harmonic detours.
Intuitive, fluid, and airy improvisations regularly emerge from Girard’s accomplices: the excellent Allison Burik on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, the delicate Yannick Anctil on piano, and the gently sparkling Nicolas Riverin on trumpet (and bugle). Two cellos provide the velvety cushioning of the strings, occasionally allowing themselves some very lovely independent interventions (Jérémie Cloutier and Juliette Malgrange), while the rhythm section weaves occasionally arachnid threads (Jules Payette on drums, Alex Le Blanc on double bass). Let’s also note the more modernist outbursts of Jean-Michel Leblanc’s guitar, which never overstep the general direction set by Sophianne Girard: that of a complex yet very pleasant and accessible expressiveness.
A very beautiful album that confirms the strength of the Montreal creator’s artistic vision.
Piano: Yannick Anctil
Guitar (electric and acoustic): Jean-Michel Leblanc
Double bass: Alex Le Blanc
Drums: Jules Payette
Cellos: Jérémie Cloutier and Juliette Malgrange
Alto saxophone and bass clarinet: Allison Burik
Trumpet and flugelhorn: Nicolas Riverin
Sophianne Girard will be in concert on the following dates to present Si vivante:
- 7 november – Saint-Graal, Sainte-Thérèse
- 21 november – Communord, Sherbrooke
- 24 november – Le Bien Le Malt, Rimouski
