Mare Undarum

Description

Recorded at Studio Pigalle in Paris, at the invitation of the young label Komos, Sélène Saint-Aimé's debut album, Mare Undarum, captivates with its richness, poetry, and originality: there is this incredible vocal flexibility, this free-spirited double bass playing, as well as arrangements for saxophone, trumpet, percussion, violin, and cello. A blend of the warmth of brass, the wood of strings, and the rhythm of the ka drum, which reveals Caribbean and African influences. This taste for inventive and rich music is largely thanks to American saxophonist Steve Coleman, whom she met during a residency in Montreuil in 2016 and later reconnected with in New York. There, she frequented the most prestigious jazz clubs, crossed paths with Ron Carter and Ravi Coltrane; she listened, observed, and learned. Today, she is beginning to carve out a personal path that will take her far. Sélène Saint-Aimé starts by working with saxophone, trumpet, and percussion, then adds strings, violin, cello, and double bass. The idea of the project was to mix the warmth of brass, the wood of strings, and the rhythm of the ka drum. It is up to the musicians to push their improvisations towards very rhythmic African territories. These influences are fully embraced by the young musician and composer, who has Caribbean and African roots.