December 3, 2024.
A few weeks after the triumph of his sidekick Louis Matute at New Morning, it was Léon Phal's turn to meet the Parisian public for his last date in 2024 and the saxophonist does not hide his emotion and his surprise to discover a packed Leather Goods store to hear him, to the point of starting his performance a few minutes ahead of the official schedule!
Accompanied by his usual gang – Zacharie Ksyk on trumpet, Gauthier Toux on keyboards and machines, Rémi Bouyssière on double bass and Arthur Alard on drums –, Phal revisits the repertoire of the album “Stress Killer”, released last year and with which the spectators are obviously familiar, as evidenced by the ovation which greets the first notes of the title track and the response to a composition like Vibing in Ayits author's nod to the village of his youth. Added to the program are a few tracks from the EP “No Pain No Champagne”, designed in association with a local winemaker and therefore each track illustrates a particular vintage, as well as the “deluxe edition” of the album, coming a few days later. late, whose irresistible The law of loveperformed with the singer Brö and the reinforcement of Béryl Benveniste on soprano saxophone, with obvious hit potential. Even these lesser known titles do not lower the temperature of the room, and a long ovation greets the end of the concert, before a return of the whole group, again with Béryl Benveniste, for Make it brighta track taken from Phal's previous album.
Given the success of this evening, Léon Phal and his ensemble should be widely heard in the coming months – especially since the album “Stress Killer” is now covered, in its deluxe edition, by a major after its debut on the independent label Heavenly Sweetness – and could conquer a much wider audience than that of contemporary jazz lovers.
-Text : Frédéric Adrian
Photo © DR / Courtesy of Miles Yzquierdo
