Yannick Rieu – When Jazz Meets China – Centre D'échange Culturel Chine-Canada

Yannick Rieu was the 18th recipient of the Oscar Peterson Award, originally created during the 10th edition of Montreal International Jazz Festival, to celebrate the quality of his art and his outstanding contribution to the development of Canadian jazz.

As early as 1988, Down Beat, the American bible of jazz, ranked him amongst the 20 most talented saxophonists in the world alongside Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano and Courtney Pine. Since then, Yannick Rieu has played throughout the world and collects praise and awards, both for his recordings and his performances on stage. He received three Félix from ADISQ for the best jazz album of the year category for “What Is the Colour of Love”, “Little Zab”, and “I Is Memory”.

The project entitled “Yannick Rieu Quartet – When Jazz Meets China” presents a hybrid music, rooted in jazz tradition while using sounds from Chinese original music.

This idea emerged from previous tours in China (more than ten since 2006) which gave Yannick Rieu the opportunity to deepen his knowledge and interest for Chinese music. These trips served to collect a large number of records from various parts of China and become familiar with their singular and inspiring musical language.

It is obvious that the instruments with very singular stamps enrich Yannick Rieu’s creativity as well as the specific use of breath, ornamentation and vision of the traditional music role (representation and illustration of the nature-rain, sun, wind, fog, etc. via the melodies) help to create an original sound, a particular color to the group.

www.yannickrieu.com
www.yariproductions.com

Musicians

Yannick Rieu: saxophones, samples and compositions
Jean- Sebastien Williams: Guitar
Morgan Moore: electric bass
Gregory Ritchie: drums

Program

Sunset
China’s Voice
Duan Qiao
La Longue marche
Nam
Wu
Song of Yimeng Mountain

All compositions by Yannick Rieu, only with the exception of the Songs of Yimeng Mountain and Duan Qiao. The music played will be selected among these titles