Country : France Label : Genres and styles : Classical / Contemporary / Jazz / Tango Year : 2024

Louise Jallu – Jeu

· by Michel Labrecque

Is the future of bandoneon female? One thing is certain: the French Louise Jallu is taking this instrument toward new paths. With Jeu (Game), her third opus, Louise Jallu allows the bandoneon to go beyond the late Astor Piazzolla. It’s not nothing.

Invented in Germany, the bandoneon, which is similar to the accordion, is the preferred instrument of Argentine and Uruguayan tango. Astor Piazzola transformed popular tango into more erudite music, adding jazz and classical ingredients. Everyone who saw his show at the Spectrum in Montreal in 1984 still gets chills. The recording is still available on the website of the Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec.

Piazzola had many followers and disciples, including Juan-Jose Mosalini and, in Quebec, Romulo Larrea and Denis Plante. But the young Frenchwoman Louise Jallu goes further. It frees the bandoneon from tango, without denying Astor Piazzola and his descendants. His previous album, Piazzola 2021, was also dedicated to him.

Jeu opens with a jazz rhythm, then immerses us in a mixture of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Alban Berg (1885-1935), German classical musicians. There’s repetitive bandoneon, bluesy bandoneon with a saturated electric guitar; a cover of a song by Georges Brassens and a version of Ravel’s Boléro that I would describe as very enjoyable. There are so many layers that you discover new ones after several listens.

This could all be too eclectic and indigestible. It is not the case at all. Louise Jallu enjoys playing between these genres while asserting her uniqueness as a bandoneonist and as a musician. She is accompanied by fabulous musicians, as well as the French composer Bernard Cavanna, on arrangements. He was his teacher at the Genevilliers Conservatory, one of the high places for tango teaching in France.

Jeu is a wonderful musical playground for Louise Jallu, who is thirty years old. What game will she be playing in ten or twenty years? She said she loved “the mindset of musical transgression” while respecting tradition. It’s promising.

Latest 360 Content

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Sparks – MAD!

Sparks – MAD!

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Cazzu – Latinaje

Cazzu – Latinaje

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Subscribe to our newsletter