This third volume of the Trilogie des Odeurs (Trilogy of Scents) by trumpeter Jacques Kuba-Séguin is the conclusion of a beautiful adventure. Launched in 2023 with Parfum no 1 (in quintet format), followed in 2024 with Parfum no 2 (for big band), the saga concludes here with Parfum no 3, for jazz quartet and symphony orchestra.
Kuba-Séguin’s orchestral writing is anything but approximate. The composer knows where he is going. His classical references, as well as jazz, are impeccable and among the richest.
You will notice the Stravinskian textures, and colours that one might hear in Prokofiev passed through Gil Evans, in Il n’y a pas de hasard. And then the fugue of Fugue avec Anais (à Métis), a very classy hymn to one of his daughters (if I’m not mistaken?). Echoes of the Renaissance (I think of Gabrieli) are illustrated before the framework transforms into a virtuosic excursion, on light but propulsive rhythms. The swift piano of Jean-Michel Pilc resonates in perfect harmony with the fluttering drums of Rich Irwin and the pointed textures of the orchestra.
In coelum ventures into atonal territory, evoking in the introduction a primordial chaos from which an impressionist orchestra gradually unfolds, in a world of colours and meanings that is quietly being constructed. On this, the atmospheric reflections of Kuba Séguin and his lyrical trumpet make a very beautiful effect.
Learn more about the project by listening to the interview with Jacques Kuba Séguin.
The final procession of fragrances has something of an inspiring procession, a bit like in the Carnival of the Animals, or as if we were with Miles and his Sketches From Spain aesthetic.
Kuba’s quartet is top-notch: Rich Irwin on drums, Morgan Moore on double bass, Jean-Michel Pilc on piano, and Kuba himself, of course. In accompaniment, the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra often remains discreet, but its interventions are well-crafted under the proper direction of Alain Trudel.
This grand and ambitious project finds a happy and satisfying conclusion here for jazz and refined classical music enthusiasts.
THE ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON JUNE 19, 2026, in a box set that also includes the first two volumes of the trilogy.
