the ides of April - Springtime in the jazz venues of Paris

A quick rundown on the next couple of weeks in the jazz clubs of Paris and live jazz in Paris. First things first though - Hurry! Hurry!! Get to the city quick! Because it is April. And it is Spring! In Paris! Its such a beautiful month here. You just can't go wrong with April in Paris (the song was right!) So grab one of those cheap flights and get your ass over here - it'll be worth it!

and now, Jazz Clubs and Bars and Cellars and Festivals in Paris ---

First - how can I pass up the chance to pass the word on about a fellow Canadian in Paris.





The lovely Ndidi O is a British Columbian singer (hailing from Burns Lake... now that's a tiny little town) with a Nigerian heritage. You can hear her at myspace and she'll be singing on the 28th and 29th of April at Duc Des Lombards and then in a few other venues around town

And before that (also at the Duc) there's the wonderful James CARTER Quintet featuring Corey WILKES ( James Carter - sax ; Corey Wilkes - trumpet ; Gerard Gibbs - piano ; Ralph Armstrong - double bass; Leonard King – drums)




They're playing on the 21st - 25 Euro a ticket... Check out our venues page for address and phone numbers, and here's a clip of them at the Vienna Jazz Fest





Now - if you want to get off the beaten track then I totally recommend this little fest





its deep in the heart of the African neighbourhood La Goutte D'Or up in the 18th. Not the most touristy of areas, but one of the most interesting places in Paris. Names after the light white wine that grew in the vineyards of the hills outside of the old city walls, now its a mishmash of working class homes, subsidized housing, fashion districts and artist lofts. And the Lavoir Moderne is a stronghold of everything Avant Garde that is still left in Paris.

here's a brief rundown on the untranslatable info on the festival. Head up early, get some great couscous, split a bottle of red. It'll be surprising and amazing.

16th April - A night of song, new creations. Open to Griot singers of today, where words leap and language comes alive - accordion, mandolin, theatre artists, poets

17th April, The Big Feelings
Solo voice and double bass. Elise Dabrowski brings a pure and unique sound to her rare musicality.

and a 'drunken' theatre show of childish and wise improvised scenes

18 avril A 'hommage' to George Brassens poet and songwriter extraordinary, with the cream of the crop of young french chanson singers.

Réservation : 01 42 52 09 14 ou
resa@rueleon.net – 06 24 18 83 41 ou reservation@musicaouir.fr
www.rueleon.net

My New Jazz Cabaret Work... with standards by Kander and Ebb, Shelton Brooks,

edited video of my latest Jazz Cabaret work - The Barker's Spiel. Songs of Tom Waits, Nirvana, Jacques Brel...




first presented at the London Fringe Festival, The Barker's Spiel plays with cliches and stereotypes of cabaret and Jazz and lounge singers, mixing and matching singers and songs.

the London Free Press says

"Bremner Duthie promises that miracles will happen as he opens his new show The Barker's Spiel at the London Fringe. He also offers a "side order of belief" and a "tiny sliver of hope."From carnival barker to Las Vegas performer to Berlin Cabaret singer, Duthie gives us the scoop on life as an entertainer. Everyone's looking to be entertained -- and Duthie serves up wares such as white-fingered monkeys and red velvet hats, juggling, singing and dancing…..

We're back - we're nationwide! The best jazz Bars and Cafes in Paris

Well, I guess with the web these days that would be 'worldwide'

So, before I get down to reviewing the jazz clubs in Paris or talking about the new jazz in Paris, let me just say that finally my album of standards is mastered, and now graphics for the album are in design and a version is winging its way towards the digital distributor and we're filling out forms to pay for the rights to the songs.... All the things that you have to do after you do all the artsy stuff of singing and making music. If you want to take a listen then check out the link on the right to the album - its called 'The Sky Was Blue' (the first words from that wonderful standard 'lover come back to me'...

meanwhile in Paris. There is sooooo much to see and do in April. I'm going to start off with another wee shout out for this great site http://www.parisjam.com/jam.php It's all in French, but the language is pretty simple, and it'll give you listings for all the 'open mic' jams that are happening around town. For example 'Autour de Midi.. et Minuit' (which is a great little basement club just down from the legendary cafe where 'Amelie Poulain' worked in Montmartre) - they have a Jam for swing and Be-Bop players every tuesday beginning at 10pm. So if you're tempted why not pack up your instrument, or beg, borrow or steal one here and become part of jazz history playing in the clubs of Paris. All the jams I've been to are welcoming and cheerful affairs...


As you know if you've read this blog before I'm not a huge fan of Jazz Manouche, or Django Reinhardt style playing. But I'll admit that could be because every guitarist in France thinks they can 'naturally' play this music so I've seen a lot of indifferent Jazz Manouche... however this little festival looks interesting



I don't know the players, but the cafe is a totally charming spot to see jazz and the neighbourhood is one the most romantic in Paris and even some half decent playing can be improved with a good bottle of wine and a steak frites.

This should be cool -

John Edwards

- photo jmm sur http://intownweb.cc-parthenay.fr


John is releasing an album of solo bass and is doing a CD release concert on the 11th at Souffle Continu (Souffle Continu - 20 / 22 rue Gerbier - 75011 Paris - T. 01 40 24 17 21, M° Voltaire ou Philippe Auguste, soufflecontinu@gmail.com) - I love the name of this club - how would we translate that? - Either Never-Ending-Breath, or the technical players term 'Circular Breathing'... Anyway, John will be on at 18:30 (6.30pm) Here's a clip of him playing with Evan Parker



And finally, a little big band -

Inama is a Sextet of young french players. I'll be heading out to hear them for the first time live - you can get a taste of them at http://www.myspace.com/inamamusique - a sort of free jazz with elements of pop and rock thrown in there. They're on stage a couple of time in the next weeks. on 10/04/09 at 20h00 (8pm) at Centre Culturel Mongallet
4, passage Stainville, 75012 PARIS, 9/7€ and 25/04/09 à 20h30, LA CHAPELLE DES LOMBARDS, 19, rue de Lappe, 75011 PARIS, 10/8€

enjoy April in Paris

I never knew the charm of spring
I never met it face to face
I never new my heart could sing
I never missed a warm embrace

Till April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom
Holiday tables under the trees
April in Paris, this is a feeling
That no one can ever reprise

Out of it

Hi All
I'm stepping away from reviewing jazz in Paris and jazz clubs in Paris for a few weeks since I'm deep in rehearsals for the upcoming shows, so I won't be posting here again till April - but browse the old listings and our venues page up on the right and you'll find lots of suggestions for great ongoing music and clubs and players in Paris. And I'll be back shortly!
all the best
Bremner

Champagne at the Chope - Gypsy Jazz in Paris at the Puces

Django Rules in Paris! - Our beloved gypsy Chope has reopened to join all the other great jazz clubs in Paris after 4 long months of renovation...yesterday, all the regular faces were there, toasting the spirit of Django with champagne. even the sometimes-taciturn bartender was all smiles, as Ninine Garcia stepped back into his usual corner and served up his trademark manouche guitar.


as for the renovation, well...the tiny tattered bar area is larger, but the shiny new flatscreen televisions, so that everyone can watch the music from every corner of the room, seem like a good idea taken too far. and the walls are now decorated with some beautiful guitars behind kitsch glass vitrines, which takes some getting used to. everything's a bit too new right now...but that'll wear off soon enough, when the crowds hit, this summer. on the upside, the red wine is a thousand times better than it used to be, there's now more space for cutting the rug, and the toilets, ah, they really did need some renovating.

any weekend, head up to the Puces de St-Ouen, and have a drink at the Chope des Puces,122 rue des Rosiers, music every Sat & Sun, 2pm - 7pm (free--contribute to the hat)

Django Symphony

Now this is going to be a cool addition to the live jazz concerts in Paris..

Symphonic Django/ Django Symphonique is the first ever edition of the legendary Django Reinhardt´s music orchestrated for symphony orchestra. The idea originated from Jon Larsen and was developed in cooperation with the festival Christianssand String Swing. The arrangements are by Per Ekdahl and were first performed live by Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra featuring Florin Niculescu (RO) and Stochelo Rosenberg (NL) as soloists.


check out more info here at their website


and as a plus, its on at the Cirque d'Hiver - an amazing historic building in the middle of the city.

Live Jazz in Paris and Jazz clubs in Paris for January 2009 - Happy New Year

So, 2009 looks like live jazz in Paris is going to be great despite (or maybe because of) the global downturn. Jazz clubs in Paris are never going to be making that much money, so hopefully having a few less tourists turn up won't change their situation too much... like the whole jazz world, we're used to operating on a shoestring!

That said, January is always a slow month, but I think there is some great stuff going on - so, here's some links and some recommendations for the next couple of weeks. As usual, explore the Venues page and you'll find lots of clubs in your Quartier of Paris and you can make your own choices!





This is a nice choice- free, apart from the price of a return ticket on the RER - and, if you're inclined, you can combine it with a day at Euro-Disney, since its one RER stop away. (though why come to Paris and then spend a day at Disney I've never understood - but hey, its there, so why not.... I guess) Or if members of the family are looking for that European mall shopping experience you can always head out early to the immense designer discount mall at Val d'Europe before catching some music... Anyway... - At the Val d'Europe stop at the Médiathèque du val d’Europe there's a nice sounding Trio - on guitar N'guyen Le, vibraphone, Philippe Mace, and drums and percussion Joel Allouche - I always love that crossover world and it seems that they're going to be playing around with vietnamese traditional musics.... Its free but you'll just need to make reservations - 01 60 43 66 28.

In town, here is a very cute idea - At Sunside, every Sunday for January and February at 4pm they will have Jazz for families and kids.






they're going to do an 'homage' to a different jazz legend, or jazz theme evey week and the idea is really to have families and kids and turn the younger set on to jazz. So, if you're in the city with the young ones, it might be an event for you. And, for the older set who want to stick around - and 9pm there will be a jazz jamm based around the theme, so you'll have lots players dropping by with their instruments looking for a chance to play.

so - here's the lineup for the next few weeks...
le 11 janvier : "hommage à Dizzy Gillespie”
le 18 janvier : "hommage à George Gershwin”
le 25 janvier : Laurent Courthaliac Trio plays Sonny Rollins

Philippe Soirat - drums ; Mathias Allamane - upright bass ; Laurent Courthaliac - piano

enjoy....