Géraldine Laurent

Disque “ Cooking ”

GÉRALDINE LAURENT saxophone alto                                                  
PAUL LAY PIano 
YONI ZELNIK Contrebasse
DONALD KONTOMANOU Batterie 
Disque Produit par Laurent de Wilde (Gazebo/l'autre distribution)             

In February 2015, Géraldine Laurent recorded the album At Work with this quartet, a true profession of faith in rhythmic, lively jazz with no limits. Since then, there have been many concerts, travels, hustles and surprises, material for everything that permeates music and makes the life of a band. And what a band it is! They've found each other... On double bass, Yoni Zelnik, loyal to Geraldine since the beginning, and whose roundness of sound and impeccable precision make him irreplaceable; on drums, Donald Kontomanou, perfectly at ease in the rhythmic mazes traced by the saxophonist, and whose musicality is always surprising; on piano, Paul Lay, who is now enjoying a brilliant solo career, illuminating the quartet with his multicolored flashes... And of course Géraldine. Freer and more fiery than ever. Her music can be built around a single phrase, or develop at length into contemplative forms, but there's always an urgency, a presence that lights up every second of her playing. In her ceaseless quest for the true emotions of jazz, we hear her crossed by the souls of Rollins, Dolphy, Coltrane, Hawkins or Parker, all resolutely tending towards the same goal...  Géraldine wanted to call this album Cooking. Because in music, as in cooking, it's a team affair to measure out each ingredient to achieve the ephemeral perfection of the final result. Because an album is like a meal, and it's possible to have taste buds in your ears. Because giving pleasure has to be organized, weighed and tasted. And because we always love to hear the passing musician feeling that pleasure when he pushes open the club door and exclaims, amazed: wow... cooking! 

Laurent de Wilde