In the first part of this concert the Brussels Jazz Orchestra presents Big Valses, a version of the Valses Nobles et Sentimentales by Maurice Ravel, composed and arranged by Pierre Drevet. After the break trumpeter and composer Bert Joris (B) joins us on stage to play a selection of our new record with Bert 'Smooth Shake'.
Pierre Drevet: “Maurice Ravel has been part of my musical universe for a very long time. I’ve studied his piano, chamber music and orchestral scores for years and I’ve always had a great admiration for his compositional genius and his talent for orchestration. It’s like he’s adding colour to the harmony.” Drevet continues: “In fact, this music, with its clear melody lines and almost straightforward harmonies, is like the best jazz standards: you can play it, arrange it, or make it sound any way you want, with any instrumentation you like. I took the original Valses, which lasts 15 minutes, and made an hour-long suite from it.” The French trumpet player Pierre Drevet has played with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra for 12 years and is one of the orchestra’s house composers and arrangers.
Bert Joris: "A warm sound – that’s what I had in mind for this album. A sound that envelops you, fills you with energy, like a meaningful friendship. The result is a serene record which invites you to move nonetheless, to dance. Not too exuberantly, but smoothly." Jazz trumpeter Bert Joris (°1957) has built a solid reputation as improvisor, composer, arranger and teacher. His work is performed by musicians allover the world. Joris received several awards and prizes for his work and his most recent solo album ‘Only for the honest’ was widely acclaimed by the press. Bert Joris has published three albums with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra so far: the double album The Music of Bert Joris was released in 2002, Dangerous Liaison was recorded live in 2006 and Signs and Signatures came out in 2010/ Over the years, Joris and the BJO toured together from Sweden to the USA.
Bert Joris
