Jazz de Paris Bigband Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin feat. Biréli Lagrène, Mathilde Vendramin, Thomas Pigor & Manfred Honetschläger

• 1 April in Paris 03:30
• 2 Jazz de Paris 02:48
• 3 Je bois 06:44
• 4 Je suis snob 03:17
• 5 Bitte mach nicht Schluss (Ne me quitte pas) 04:10
• 6 Cherokee 06:41
• 7 Quand ca balance 02:25
• 8 La femme coupé en morceaux 07:32
• 9 Au bar Le Tabou 04:51
• 10 Nuages 08:00
• 11 Djangology 05:24
• 12 Que feras tu dans ta vie ? 05:33
• 13 Ray Blues 04:58
• 14 Daphné 03:48
• 15 Nous voyageons de ville en ville 02:42
• Total Runtime 01:12:23

Info for Jazz de Paris

The Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin celebrates its 20th anniversary: ​​a tribute to French jazz

The Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special program dedicated to French jazz. During the German occupation, jazz symbolized freedom and resistance; in the post-war era, it became the soundtrack of existentialism and an expression of the spirit of an entire generation. In the nightclubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, musicians like Miles Davis and Sidney Bechet mingled with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Boris Vian. ​​Juliette Gréco was the undisputed muse of the bohemian set, and for many jazz musicians from the USA, Paris became a place of longing, a refuge from racial segregation and the McCarthy era. The Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin celebrates the spirit of those years with music by Michel Legrand, Jacques Brel, Boris Vian, and Django Reinhardt.

Mathilde Vendramin, vocals, cello
Thomas Pigor, chansons
Biréli Lagrène, guitar
Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Manfred Honetschläger, conductor

Manfred Honetschläger
After classical orchestral studies, he played trombone in symphony and opera orchestras as well as in jazz ensembles and big bands, including Jerry Mulligan's European Jazz Orchestra. He also studied composition and arrangement with Bill Dobbins and Rayburn Wright at the Eastman School of Music, with Kenny Napper at the Hilversum Conservatory, and with Bob Brookmeyer and Jim McNeely (as part of a GEMA scholarship) at the Cologne University of Music.

After several years with the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, he joined the Hessian Radio Big Band. He has a long-standing collaboration with the Warsaw Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, where he works as a conductor, composer, and arranger for music and film productions. He conducted the Hessian Radio Big Band on a project basis for crossover programs (including collaborations with Bela B., Laith Al Deen, and Pe Werner), at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival (with Aki Takase and Rudi Mahall), and the SWR Big Band at the opening of the Ruhr Piano Festival.

He composed chamber music, a jazz mass, scores for radio plays (such as "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window" in 2013), a big band/jazz children's program, incidental music for plays, and crossover classical music (including for the Hessian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra & Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin). He also taught in the Jazz/Popular Music Department at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

He composed chamber music, a jazz mass, radio play scores (such as "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window" in 2013), a big band/jazz children's program, incidental music for plays, and crossover classical music (for orchestras such as the Hessian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra & Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin). In addition, he taught in the Jazz/Popular Music Department at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

Biréli Lagrène
Since the 1980s, Biréli Lagrène has been the undisputed king of jazz guitar worldwide.

In the early 1980s, Lagrène was considered a child prodigy on his instrument. His story begins in 1966 in Saverne, in the Alsace region of France. He was born into a family of musicians, where he was introduced to the guitar at an early age by his father and later by his brother. Biréli was discovered by Matelot Ferré, Django Reinhardt's accompanist.

In these early years, Biréli Lagrène was heavily influenced by Django Reinhardt. He was inspired by the master's refrains, listened to his records repeatedly, and initially tried to imitate what he heard before developing his own style. This unique style can be heard on Lagrène's early albums: "Routes to Django" (1980), "Bireli Swing '81" (1981), and "Fifteen" (1982). A kind of trilogy in the form of a "free manifesto," in keeping with the etymology of the word "manouche" ("free person"). For him, music, and jazz in particular, is thus connected to a primal freedom, "a freedom that knows no bounds..." "Django helped me see what was happening elsewhere," he says.

Biréli Lagrène was influenced not only by Django Reinhardt, but also by Wes Montgomery and George Benson, and soon turned to the fusion of Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report.

Biréli Lagrène was influenced not only by Django Reinhardt, but also by Wes Montgomery and George Benson, and soon turned to the fusion of Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report.

Starting in 1986, Biréli Lagrène, who had already collaborated with Stéphane Grappelli and Larry Coryell, embarked on his fusion adventure, deepening his experiences and encounters along the way. He even hesitated for a time about which instrument to choose (under Pastorius's influence, he had become an excellent bassist). He ultimately decided on the guitar and, in a period of exploration, developed a stunning style that demonstrated exceptional adaptability and improvisational talent, placing him among the greatest in his field. Numerous collaborations followed. Lagrène played alongside John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (for a temporary Cream reunion), Stanley Clarke, Miroslav Vitous, Lenny White, and Mike Stern. This impressive list doesn't even include the two live albums he recorded with Jaco Pastorius.

In 1990, the album "Acoustic Moments" was released, a beautiful synthesis of various styles. It walks the fine line between traditional jazz and fusion. With "Standards" (1992), Lagrène finally found the right mix and garnered great acclaim from both critics and audiences.

When Biréli Lagrène's "Viaggio" (1993) was released, it coincided with his steadily growing national and international recognition. In 1993, he won the coveted "Django d'Or" (the Golden Django), and in 2001, he received the "Victoires de la Musique" (the French equivalent of the Grammy, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture for outstanding achievements in the music industry) for "Front Page" (2000). A "power trio" with Dominique Di Piazza and Dennis Chambers, recording for Universal, crowned the success and popularity of "The Gipsy Project" (2001). At 35, after having explored almost every facet of modern guitar playing, ...

Thomas Pigor
(*1956) has been one half of the duo "Pigor sings – Benedikt Eichhorn must accompany" (Volumes 1-10) since 1995. With their "Salon Hip Hop," the two are considered among the most innovative artists in the German chanson scene. They performed their French-language program "Volume F" at the Avignon Festival. His musical radio column "Chanson of the Month" (2010-2018) was broadcast regularly in 100 episodes by SWR2 and Deutschlandfunk. He also works as a librettist, composer, and translator for musical theater. Among other works, he wrote the operettas THREE MEN IN THE SNOW (2019) and OH! OH! AMELIO!, based on the works of Georges Feydeau, which premiered at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich.

In 2023, he was awarded the German Music Authors' Prize by GEMA, and in 2024, the German Musical Theater Prize for best lyrics.

Mathilde Vendramin
is a French cellist, singer, and composer living in Berlin who impresses with her musical versatility. Her training in musicology, classical cello, and vocal jazz shapes her unique style, which effortlessly blends genres.

Her love of poetry, theater, and spoken word lends her music a special lyrical depth. With an innovative sound and strong stage presence, she is a defining voice in the Berlin jazz scene.

Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Big Band's true birth can be traced back to a benefit concert in 2005 featuring the twelve brass players and a percussionist from the Deutsche Oper orchestra. Initially, the band was led by baritone saxophonist Rolf von Nordenskjöld. Now, jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger Manfred Honetschläger provides the perfect sound. Stars such as Katharine Mehrling, Madeline Bell, Lyambiko, Jocelyn B. Smith, Pe Werner, Bill Ramsey, Georgie Fame, Jiggs Whigham, Jeff Cascaro, and Richard Galliano have graced its stage.

The Big Band's true birth is considered to be a benefit concert in 2005 with the twelve brass players and a percussionist from the Deutsche Oper orchestra.

In collaboration with General Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles, several crossover concerts took place, as well as the 2016 world premiere of Manfred Honetschläger's jazz melodrama "The Seduction of Pentheus" on the main stage of the Deutsche Oper Berlin with the orchestra and the Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, featuring actor Ben Becker. Further highlights included a concert with Paul Kuhn in June 2012, his last performance with a big band. The Big Band celebrated its tenth anniversary in March 2016 with a brilliant concert to a sold-out audience, featuring soloists Torsten Goods, Polly Gibbons, and trumpeter Till Brönner. In April 2018, the Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin was invited to Warsaw for a three-day guest performance, during which they gave two concerts together with the Warsaw Philharmonic. At the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Big Band performs regularly on the main stage, in addition to its established Jazz & Lyrics series in the Tischlerei (carpentry workshop), including a performance in April 2022 with Ute Lemper as the special guest. Also in 2022, the Big Band was a guest at the Musikfest Berlin, where they performed Charles Mingus's magnum opus, "Epitaph," together with musicians from the orchestra and the Jazz Institute Berlin, as well as trumpeter Randy Brecker. This work has since been released on CD.

Three CDs have been released by monsrecords to date: "Premiere," released in 2008, was a collaboration with Bill Ramsey; a second, "How Long Is Now?", was released in 2010 with Pascal von Wroblewsky; and the third, "A Soul Journey," is a live recording from RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting) in February 2018 featuring soloists, choir, and big band, in which Christian "The Voice" Brückner guides the listener through the history of soul music. Also in collaboration with Christian Brückner, the audiobook of the same name was created based on the narrative concert "The Ballad of Robin Hood," adapted from John von Düffel's retelling with music by Martin Auer. Released in 2023, it won the German Jazz Prize for Best Audiobook Production. In 2021, Martin Auer and Christian Brückner also collaborated on Kipling's "The Jungle Book," and in 2024, they produced "The Canterville Ghost" based on Oscar Wilde.

This album contains no booklet.