Artistes
6 doin' jazz, behind the scenes of a tour with Émile Parisien
Available for free on YouTube, the documentary offers an immersive experience that transcends the simple musical framework. It invites us to follow 6 musicians evolving in the jazz scene, exploring the Afro-American heritage of this music while highlighting the contemporary issues facing the sextet...
In 2020, saxophonist Émile Parisien was invited by the ACT label to perform a series of concerts in honor of Blue Note, the emblematic jazz label. During the tour, he met two American musicians: Theo Croker (trumpet) and Joe Martin (double bass). Then came the pandemic and lockdowns. Émile wrote a new album, with the “Blue Note sound” in mind. A few months later, he called Theo and Joe who accepted to join him in a band. With Nasheet Waits (drums), Roberto Negro (piano) and Manu Codjia (guitar), they then founded the Émile Parisien Sextet .
After presenting the genesis of the sextet, the film takes us behind the scenes of life on tour and musical creation. Filmmaker Solange Brousse closely followed the artists (on the road, in rehearsal, during waiting times as well as in moments of grace in concert) while questioning them about their relationship to music, to their instruments, to their playing partners… The film thus draws an intimate portrait of 6 talented musicians, but also of what jazz is today.
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“There are only three great soprano saxophone players in jazz. The first one was Sidney Bechet, the second one was John Coltrane, and the third one is Emile Parisien. There is nobody in the world who plays that instrument like him.” Siegfried Loch - ACT Label founder |
A key figure on the French jazz scene, Émile Parisien has travelled through the early part of this century in a singular way: a budding young musician from Marciac at the turn of the millennium, the saxophonist has worked hard to explore tradition and history while going far beyond them. This evolution owes much to the curiosity of Émile Parisien, whose profile as a rising jazz star has gradually been refined to reveal a complex artist with a sharp mind.
Central character of the documentary, the saxophonist tells us about the conception of his album Louise (“an ode to the Mother in general”), confides in his way of working in a sextet, his relationship with the soprano saxophone, or even his reluctance to be labeled a jazz musician.
An authentic portrait of a group on the road, this delightful documentary transcends the boundaries of jazz and makes it a living entity…
► Learn more about Émile Parisien
► Watch the documentary on YouTube
► Listen to the album
