Blossom

Description

Trombone and accordion in duo, an obvious choice if you have had the chance to hear their swirls fill a cathedral nave, like in Coutances, or whisper in a more intimate setting. Between Airelle Besson's trumpet and Lionel Suarez's reeds, the music unfolds with the naturalness of a wingbeat. Forget who accompanies whom, they move forward with a single momentum. Sometimes in a half-voice, in confidence; often very close to the melody, with delicately formulated lyricism; always in harmony, supporting and extending each other. The strongest part is that when one fades away, the other insinuates itself into the space more than it invades, sketches an expectation, highlights what connects the ellipses. It takes a lot of wisdom, humility, and mastery to dialogue like this without giving up on dynamics, contrasts, and rhythmic variations. 20 years since they met: It is therefore in full maturity, strengthened by ten years of rich exchanges, of refined repertoire, that they decide to record this new album. Nothing was, however, written in advance. Lionel Suarez, marked by decisive encounters with Claude Nougaro and Jean Rochefort, has crossed paths with so many artists that one could make a Prévert-style inventory. But in this trajectory rich with a thousand crossings, one path has never been interrupted, that of jazz. For Airelle Besson, it was necessary to break free from the historical trumpet-piano duos (Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines, Clark Terry & Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker & Paul Bley), to build on her duo with guitarist Nelson Veras (“Prélude,” 2014) and extend her connection with Rhoda Scott's organ, to let herself be intoxicated by the breath of the accordion.