{"id":119819,"date":"2024-05-27T17:41:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=119819"},"modified":"2024-05-27T17:49:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:49:37","slug":"ensemble-vocal-jazz-bemol-9-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/ensemble-vocal-jazz-bemol-9-hiatus\/","title":{"rendered":"Ensemble vocal jazz B\u00e9mol 9 – Hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B\u00e9mol 9 celebrates its forty years with a Hiatus<\/em>. The vocal jazz ensemble led by Vincent Morel arrives at the age of reason with a very mature musical proposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

B\u00e9mol 9 is, first and foremost, a group of voices with an eclectic jazz repertoire. The seventeen choristers are joined by a trio of bass, drums, and keyboard. Vincent Morel’s specialty is to make these voices sound like a big band, and to create French lyrics to certain American jazz classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eclecticism, we said: it begins with And so it Goes<\/em>, by Billy Joel, a quiet pop ballad with sumptuous harmonies. Followed by Oye Como Va<\/em> by Santana and Moondance <\/em>by Van Morrison. Rock coated with jazzy vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have to wait for the fifth piece, a rereading of Flight of the Foo Birds<\/em>, by Count Basie, to hear previously unpublished lyrics in French. This will be repeated subsequently with Line for Lyons<\/em>, by Paul Desmond, transformed into a French jazz ballad, Choro Dan\u00e7ado<\/em>, by Maria Schneider, Strasbourg-St-Denis<\/em>, by Roy Hargrove and Caribe<\/em>, by Michel Camilo. These pieces constitute the strongest moments of this album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also rereadings by F\u00e9lix Leclerc (Bozo), the Beatles (Come Together), Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now) and Gloria Estefan (Mas Alla). On this last choice, I’d like to express a dissonant note: there are so many wonderful songs in Spanish, past and present, that I’m trying to list on PAN M 360, that one could find much better, melodically speaking, than the product of this very commercial Floridian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all the interpretations are of equal quality, but there’s a damned good effort put into creating playful, intelligent music for our ears to enjoy. Hiatus is B\u00e9mol 9’s seventh album in its forty-year history. All the members of the ensemble have other jobs, music-related or not. It’s also an example of musical resilience, which deserves to be highlighted; and listened to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

B\u00e9mol 9 will perform at the Quebec Jazz Festival on June 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n