CELESTINE IN THE CLOUDS
On the occasion of the carte blanche offered by the Jazzdor festival in June 2024 in Berlin, Sophie Bernado, singer and bassoonist, proposes a collaboration with Joachim Florent, double bassist and Marie-Pascale Dubé, vocalist with whom Sophie has previously collaborated. They invite the vibraphonist Taiko Saito in this new creation.
An invitation to travel is drawn in the choice of the instrumentarium. The group, like a colorist, explores the confines of possibilities through the multiple palettes of textures that the instrumentation offers.
Diving between contemporary reveries and world music, diving into the exploration of these nuances ultimately rarely encountered on the path of improvisation.
not to mention the very diverse influences of each member of the group, the speech is tinged sometimes with the liberated character of improvisation sometimes with themes with classical influences from composers of the early 21st century.
Let us not forget that each instrument here is a unique opportunity, a springboard for the flight of the mind and therefore of the imagination.
MARIE-PASCALE DUBÉ
actress and director. With a career and its deviations. I was born in Montreal and grew up in Quebec where I studied cinema and directing. I arrived in France at the end of my studies in 2009 where I started working as an editor and assistant director for six years, notably for Arte and the director Stan Neumann.
Editing taught me a lot about directing. It is important for me to feed my curiosities and to continue to do more than one thing, everything communicates. At the same time, I directed my first feature-length documentary for 7 years, "Rouge Gorge", which tells my story related to Inuit throat singing. I also resumed theater training for a few years at the same time as my job as chief editor. My father is an actor, was a drama teacher for children all his life, it has also always been part of mine. Let's say that acting is my first love... and I'm going back to it! My initiation into Inuit throat singing still colors my artistic journey today. A play for young audiences "Un flocon dans ma gorge" was written and directed by Constance Larrieu (a production of the CDN of Sartrouville) inspired by my story, in which I play all the roles. The only actress on a stage that I share with the musician David Bichindaritz. We performed this piece for Odyssées en Yvelines in 2020 and we will have to resume a tour from mid-March 2021 if health conditions allow it. I also play the title role, which I share with Lorry Hardel and Seydoux Boro, in Laëtitia Guédon's next piece "Penthésilé.e.s / Amazonomachie", a creation for the in d'Avignon 2021.
TAIKO SAITO
is one of the most versatile marimba and vibraphone players in Germany. She enchants her audiences with her unique playing style and special sound aesthetics. She has received several awards in jazz as well as classical music.
She has toured worldwide and released albums as (co-)leader of KOKO with Niko Meinhold (p), Futari with Satoko Fujii (p), Berlin Mallet Group with David Friedman, Julius Heise, Raphael Meinhart and Hauke Renken, Trio SAN with Satoko. Fujii and Yuko Oshima (dr), and kokotob with Niko Meinhold and reed player Tobias Schirmer (bcl).
Born in Sapporo/Japan and has lived in Berlin since 1998. She studied with marimba virtuoso Keiko Abe and studied classical marimba and percussion at the Toho School of Music. In 1997 she began improvising and writing music and moved to Berlin, where she studied vibraphone and composition with David Friedman at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
She has worked with Keiko Abe, Sofia Gubaidulina, Mary Halverson, David Friedman, Satoko Fujii, Herbert Fritsch, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Takehito Koganezawa, Silke Eberhard, Achim Kaufmann, Heinrich Köbberling and others.
As a composer, she won the originality award at the 2004 International Marimba Competition for "Landscape IV". In 2008, she wrote "Cache-cache pour 9 percussionnistes", commissioned by the percussion ensemble "coup de baguette".
She has also appeared on numerous recordings ranging from classical, jazz and improvised music to hip-hop music, including an ECM recording with Trickster Orchestra, a world premiere recording of Sofia Gubaidulina's "So sei es" with Nurit Stark Ensemble on BIS records and a film of Hitomi Kamanaka's "Ashes to Honey" with Shing02.
She is a member of the Trickster Orchestra, the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, Silke Eberhards' Potsa Lotsa XL and the Hannes Zerbe Jazz Orchestra.
JOACHIM FLORENT
Né en 1979 à Schaerbeek, en Belgique, Joachim est un artiste aux multiples talents. Il a étudié à l'ENM de Villeurbanne en parallèle d'études scientifiques, puis au CNSM à Paris, au département de jazz. Musicien atypique, il est le bassiste du trio Jean Louis, aux côtés d'Aymeric Avice et Francesco Pastacaldi.
Il joue également au sein du quatuor Imperial et de la compagnie Imperial. Avec Benjamin Flament, il a fondé les ensembles MetaL-O-PHoNe et Radiation10, moteurs du collectif
coax. Son goût pour l'aventure et le renouveau le conduit à collaborer avec des musiciens finlandais
tels qu'Aki Rissanen, Mandingo au sein de l'Imperial Pulsar ou encore la musique contemporaine du quatuor Bela. Récemment installé à Nantes, Joachim y travaille notamment
avec la chanteuse Maud Trutet.
En 2007, il a remporté le 1er prix d'instrumentiste au concours Defense, ainsi que les deux premiers prix de groupe (Radiation10 et Jean Louis). Qu'il joue en acoustique ou
qu'il transcende la contrebasse grâce à l'amplification, il est régulièrement invité à se produire en solo
(Paris Bass 2008, Le Mans Europa Jazz 2012) et participe avec le Garden Trio à la musique du
film de Coline Serreau – Solutions locales à un désordre global.
Figure influente du collectif Coax, membre moteur de plusieurs groupes qui comptent sur
la nouvelle scène française (Radiation 10, Jean-Louis, Imperial Quartet, Metal O Phone...), Joachim
Florent est également un contrebassiste et bassiste hors pair. Sa virtuosité technique, son énergie débordante et sa grande curiosité musicale lui permettent d'explorer avec aisance et pertinence des univers musicaux très différents.