Living Being IV (Time Reflections) Vincent Peirani

• 1 Le Cabinet des Énigmes 05:47
• 2 L.L 07:10
• 3 Physical Attraction 06:20
• 4 Clessidra 08:02
• 5 Better Days 05:05
• 6 Inner Pulse 09:26
• 7 Nach E Vlado 03:53
• 8 Bremain Suite (Under Pressure / Glory Box / I Want You) 08:45
• 9 Phantom Resonanz 05:25
• Total Runtime 59:53

Info for Living Being IV (Time Reflections)

Yesterday, 2011: Vincent, Yoann, Tony, Julien... and one more. A group of pals, each one having left Nice independently and ended up in Paris. They adopt Émile, also from Southern France, but from further west. Today: natural affinities, a leader who calls the shots, and they use jazz to embrace a wide musical spectrum, from Baroque music to teen pop, from traditions of the Balkans to sounds of Africa. Tomorrow: with their flair for narrative, for creating a scenario, and their mastery of dynamics, every concert is and will be a celebration of excellence.

Listening to “Living Being IV: Time Reflections”, we are immediately struck by the range of dynamics, the intimacy and extroversion at play in every detail, the rich textures, and the arrangements that allow for riveting moments of surprise. It’s worth remembering that, from the outset with Living Being, Vincent Peirani brought to the fore the concept of chamber music: a small number of performers, with each one playing a unique part, but with the emphasis on the collective rather than the individual.

From the start, with Le Cabinet des énigmes, the melodic intelligibility is impressive. A sort of children’s song sublimated by the art of superimposing transparencies. Everything is played out in a myriad of details that create a perpetual motion. Further on, in Better Days, the motif heard – it came to Vincent Peirani while improvising during one of the COVID-19 lockdowns – conveys the fragility of a slow waltz emerging from the darkness to provide a glimpse of a radiant future. Three of the tracks, Clessidra, Inner Pulse and Bremain Suite, are much longer than any of the pieces on Living Being’s previous albums. The narrative and the distribution of the parts made this inevitable. We can feel here the trust that has been built up over the years, so natural, and without the slightest tension. With different colours, they all tell the same story.

This album represents perhaps Vincent Peirani’s most faithful self-portrait to date. It has as its centrepiece Time Reflections, a suite in three movements, Clessidra, Better Days and Inner Pulse, each of which is also a suite (in 3, 3, and 4 parts, respectively). This nested construction is totally in keeping with Vincent’s true nature: he is an architect, constantly mindful of even the smallest details. Back to the future for Phantom Resonanz. An unlikely encounter between the sixteenth-century polyphony of the Franco-Flemish composer Cipriano de Rore and the contemporary approach of German pianist Michael Wollny. The result is disarming in its simplicity, and all the more convincing since the accordion plays a pivotal role. In both L.L. and Bremain Suite, variations in tempo play a major role. L.L., a tribute to Lionel Loueke, presents a Cubist portrait of the Beninese guitarist. The first half of the piece focuses on his tenderness and sensitivity, the second on his dazzling rhythms. With Bremain Suite Vincent Peirani returns to his love for putting his own spin on pop and rock songs written and recorded by other artists. After hesitating between Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie, Portishead’s Glory Box and The Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy), he decided in the end to bring all three together, shaking up their tempos and bringing out a family resemblance already spotted as a teenager. Note Émile Parisien’s bravura piece on I Want You.

Vincent Peirani’s spreads his antennae so far and wide that his four companions have to be prepared for anything when he comes up with new pieces for the repertoire. A dub with an irresistible beat, such as Physical Attraction, inspired by voguing. And Nach e Vlado, reflecting a soft spot for the traditional melodies of the Balkans, especially Macedonia. In both cases, tradition is propelled into a form of expression that is infused with a fantastic appetite for every type of music.

Living Being? Five living beings, together forming one vibrant entity.

Vincent Peirani, accordion, accordina
Emile Parisien, soprano saxophone
Julien Herne, bass
Tony Paeleman, piano, keyboards, Fender Rhodes
Yoann Serra, drums

Recorded by Boris Darley at Studio des Bruères, France
Produced by Amélie Salembier & Vincent Peirani / Yes les Guy’zz
Mixed by Nic Hard Mastered by Dave McNair

Vincent Peirani
Like all popular music, jazz is associated with strong personalities. International recognition of accordionist Vincent Peirani rests on that essential, fundamental quality. His musical charisma, his very distinctive creative skills, his unique approach to his art – all of which are the fruit of a very open, unblinkered attitude – strike the listener immediately.

After brilliant studies in classical music (many international awards), his dive into the world of jazz received the seal of success from the start and was crowned at the Victoires du Jazz in 2014 (“Revelation”) and 2015 (“Artist of the Year”). Vincent Peirani has the ability to turn everything he touches into gold: in jazz, of course (his own projects, but also collaborations with Daniel Humair, Michel Portal, and others), but also in chanson (Sanseverino, Les Yeux Noirs), film music (composer for Mathieu Almaric’s Barbara in 2017), and so on. Whatever the style, the public follows: in his performances, he creates a balance between the relatively straightforward (inventive revivals of well-known themes) and a blessed unexpectedness, with art music and popular music very close to each other, a sign of great artistry.

The man who, ten years ago, completely renewed the language of the accordion (and continues to do so) has become a major artist, whose uninhibited, cosmopolitan view of music and sense of instrumental combination and colour, enable him to bring that rare and precious magical touch to everything he does.

Booklet for Living Being IV (Time Reflections)