6 VII
Umlaut is the somewhat misleading name of the Parisian big band led by Pierre-Antoine Badaroux. Founded in 2011, the ensemble is made up of 14 virtuoso musicians with a unique affection for American and European music from 1920-40, including compositions by Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington or Benny Carter. In recent years, the group has been discovering and popularising the music of Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), pianist, composer and arranger, and mentor to such jazz giants as Thelonius Monk, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie.
In A Brief History of Swing, Umlaut Big Band tells the story of similar orchestras from 1920-40, recreating the distinctive sound familiar from old records. Over the past 10 years, the Umlaut Big Band has toured the most important jazz festivals in Europe with this programme. Each of the big band’s concerts captures the atmosphere of the crazy 1920s in all its fun, dance and euphoric dimensions, and the band members encourage the audience to have such fun. A concert definitely for dancing!
The line-up of the band
Brice Pichard, Louis Laurain, Noé Codjia – trumpets
Michaël Ballue, Alexis Persigan – trombones
Pierre-Antoine Badaroux – artistic direction, saxophone
Antonin-Tri Hoang, Geoffroy Gesser, Pierre Borel, Benjamin Dousteyssier – saxophones
Romain Vuillemin – guitar
Matthieu Naulleau – piano
Sébastien Beliah – double bass
Antonin Gerbal – drums