Nu Turn Benoît Delbecq

• 1 Rainbows 07:12
• 2 In Lilac 08:17
• 3 On Ne Dit Pas Regarder La Lune, On Dit 'Luner' 06:44
• 4 On Laterite 07:50
• 5 Into Neon 05:59
• 6 On Embers 05:38
• 7 Nu-turn (Étude de Nu) 06:11
• 8 In Funfairs 04:41
• 9 Into White 11:02
• Total Runtime 01:03:34

Info for Nu Turn

'In the manner of a mathematical and mineral reverie, Nu-turn achieves something vital. As rarely happens, a purely contemplative abstraction is combined with a lyricism all the more touching for not giving off its savor immediately, but secretly calling us to itself... The abstract is made palpable... There is also, and above all, a nocturnal choreography beautiful as an enigma... An album freed from all heaviness.'

Though he has been one of the avatars of prepared piano for over a decade, Benoit Delbecq has only now released a solo album. Nu-Turn (Songlines) is well worth the long wait, a strikingly well-defined recording featuring an immaculate Steinway D piano. Throughout the album, Delbecq's affinity for African and Asian folk music (which is most vividly evident in the timbres created by his driftwood preparations, which suggest indigenous percussion and string instruments) and his Paul Bley-derived lyricism and floating pulse constantly dovetail about one another. This accentuates the exotic, mysterious qualities of Delbecq's music that, in the past, have been tempered in other settings. Propelled by a cool attack, the music lingers in the air like incense, pungent but not overwhelming. Nu-Turn is an excellent way to become familiar with one of the most distinctive pianists on the international scene. (JazzTimes, Bill Shoemaker)

Benoit Delbecq, Piano

Benoît Delbecq - Piano
Born in 1966, Parisian pianist Benoît Delbecq gures today among the innovators of the international contemporary jazz scene. His reputation and in uence have been growing steadily since the early 90’s, and the New York Times recently described him as « an original and unconventional pianist » who « expertly » invents a « serene » music. An inspired adventurer, a goldsmith of prepared piano and a visionary poet in the art of electronically recycling his own statements, he actively participates in the new aesthetic breakthroughs of today.
A former student of Mal Waldron, Alan Silva, Muhal Richard Abrams and Steve Coleman among others, Benoît’s international pro le took o around 1992 from appearances at Paris’s cutting-edge club « Les Instants Chavirés », in parallel with the founding of Kartet, The Recyclers and the Hask Collective, all of which helped revitalize the Paris creative music scene. Since then Benoît has been touring around the globe. He performs solo piano and solo electronics, leads or co-leads a number of bands from duos to quintets, and is involved in many multi-disciplinary productions of theater, dance, the visual arts, cinema etc. His music features mesmerizing grooves that shake out ashing, lunar melodies. An invitation to a voyage into a magic land (in Le Monde).

« Prix de la Sacem » in 1995 (with the collective Kartet), Benoît was awarded the « Prix de la Villa Médicis Hors les Murs » in 2001, and received the prestigious fellowship of the Civitella Fundation New York (2009). His last CDs, The sixth Jump (trio with bass player Jean-Jacques Avenel et drummer Emile Biayenda) and Circles and Calligrams (solo) both received the « Grand Prix International du Disque Charles Cros » 2010 and are part of the ten albums of the year for the New-York Times and Le Monde

This album contains no booklet.