Henri Texier Hope Quartet - At l'improviste (2013)

A Revelation!
There are groups that one constructs painstakingly, one element at a time, and then there are those that just spring up on you, like an epiphany. This is truly the first time that a group simply crept up from behind and surprised me! Unexpectedly gathered together during a residency offered to Sébastien Texier by L`improviste, a welcoming club located on a Paris barge, this Quartet spontaneously found itself “in orbit” at equal distances around a common sphere. Even though I had known him for many years, I had never played with Louis Moutin. But Sébastien, François, Louis and I struck an instantaneous balance with each other… a novel sort of dance. It was a unique feeling of complementarity on an amazing level, where our ideas met and intermingled effortlessly…like telepathy.

World Premiere
The recording of this Hope Quartet is Jazz at its most raw, alive and intense. Unrehearsed, in and of the moment, it’s an overview of compositions with Louis Moutin, who had never played our music with us before. Urgency and Spontaneity Here you will find a music which is “wild” in the sense of free, with no constraints, the fruit of a spontaneous encounter, created with no obligations. It is woven of compositions selected by Sébastien as mere starting points for improvisation, with no obligation to even leave any trace of their presence.

You Want Live - you got it!
Destiny, in the form of Denis Gambiez, the sound engineer on L’Improviste, decided to step in. In order to preserve it, he recorded this concert as a live event, with only six microphones, a good set of ears and a lot of talent. He has managed to perfectly capture our sound, as well as the atmosphere of that evening.
After just a few hours of listening to the recording, I was convinced I was listening to my new group – and my new album!
I could not do without the amazing acoustic vision of my faithful recording companion for so many years, so I asked Philippe Teissier du Cros to lend his magic ears to the mix, to create some “acoustic images.” He obliged, lending it an air of a film shot with a camera on his shoulder. Fin ally, Raphaël Jonin mastered and fine - tuned our “frequencies” so that everyone’s sound came out loud and clear.

More than ever, we head out for new frontiers as we continue our vocation as “sculptors of passing times” in the heart of the universe of jazz music, with Sébastien Texier, François Corneloup and Louis Moutin, companions who are inspired and creative, joyful yet profound, sensitive and virtuosic, whimsical yet committed.

Tracklist:

1. Ô Elvin
2. Blues d'eau
3. La fin du voyage
4. Desaparecido
5. Song for Paul Motian
6. Sacrifice
7. Roots
8. S.O.S. Mir

Personnel:

Henri Texier - double bass;
Sébastien Texier - saxophone alto, clarinet;
François Corneloup - saxophone baritone;
Louis Moutin - drums.