Stéphane Belmondo and Dado Moroni (*) had never had the opportunity to play as a duo until now. Last October, the chance finally came and, after their concert, it became obvious that this moment of complicity deserved to be turned into an album. And so "CLOSE TOGETHER" was born. Arriving on the very day of the concert, the two protagonists jotted down a list of themes during the sound check and, without any real rehearsal, they improvised a set, picking alternately from the range of selected pieces. Thus, at the ideal distance from head and heart, the duo celebrates the language of jazz in complete freedom and delivers a handful of wonders here. Dado Moroni perfectly sums up the spirit of this meeting when speaking of Stéphane Belmondo: "My first encounter with Stéphane took place in the early 90s. He was playing (magnificently) with his brother Lionel, and I was absolutely captivated! Since then, we have had few opportunities to play together, but each time, it was as if we had seen each other the day before. His playing has never lost that perfect blend of beauty, swing, power, and humor, qualities so rare... In any case, playing duo with him is a truly inspiring journey for me, filled with little gems and constant surprises that can take you anywhere."(*) Italian pianist Dado Moroni is relatively little known in France, yet his discography is most substantial: in 40 years of career, he has toured and recorded with the cream of jazz, notably with trumpeters Clark Terry, Harry Edison, Freddie Hubbard, Franco Ambrosetti, and Tom Harrell (to whom a tribute is paid here with Sail Away), or with bassists Ray Brown, Ron Carter, and NHOP, but also with so many other musicians such as Zoot Sims, Bobby Watson, Joe Locke... Stéphane Belmondo is one of our national heroes who has earned an (international) reputation alongside Dee Dee Bridgewater, Donald Brown, Yussef Lateef, and Milton Nascimento, and albums such as Hymne au Soleil or Wonderland (with his brother).
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