In Odd We Trust

Description

In ten years, with over 500 concerts outside of France, this trio has become the emblem of French jazz abroad. Rémi Panossian, the founder of the group, was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres at the end of 2019 (!); a remarkable achievement for what remains, above all, a group of mischievous friends, constantly oscillating between the second and third degrees, much like the cover of this fifth album, reminiscent of Wes Anderson's universe. It is no longer clear what is predictable and what is not, what is expected and what surprises, as evidenced by their music that juggles between structured pieces and improvisations, never far from the burlesque but never falling into it. The RP3 is also and above all about melodic riffs that enter one ear and never leave. A music with a finely crafted groove, and a profound lightness in the compositions and arrangements, punctuated by a sound that has become their signature, in line with the great trios that have redefined the piano/bass/drums formula in recent years (The Bad Plus, E.S.T., Avishai Cohen...). But no one is a prophet in their own land. While the RP3 fills venues in Asia, South America – and North America, and all over Europe, it is paradoxically in France where they are the least recognized for their creativity, their long career, and their gentle madness. So perhaps it is to prevent them from being blamed for one of the worst carbon footprints in the French scene that it must acknowledge the talent these three thirty-somethings demonstrate in this rather strange adventure of ten — such short — years.