Piano Jazz Sessions Craig Taborn / Elliot Galvin
- Date
- 9 May 2018 – 8:30pm
- Place
- Auditorium
- Duration
- 2h
Since opening, the Fondation Louis Vuitton has hosted an exciting programme of concerts showcasing iconic pianists, both upcoming and established. In 2018, the auditorium is introducing jazz into this mix, with the launch of its Piano Jazz Sessions. Like its classical recitals, it will feature leading pianists in the genre as well as promising newcomers, with an eclectic range of compositional styles and sounds. This series of four concerts will run from the end of April to mid-May, reflecting diverse approaches and featuring both improvised and new works.
First half – Elliot Galvin
A young British pianist who has just turned 27, Elliot Galvin demonstrates incredible originality in his rhythmic structures and creates astonishing distortions using different objects in his unique way, from a tape cassette player to keys and other items. This unpredictable musician also plays the kalimba (a small African instrument with tines) and the “micro-tonal melodica” he designed himself to produce micro-intervals (smaller than a semitone). Distancing himself from his many influences, Galvin has succeeded in creating his own recognisable style from the start. This is the first time that he will perform solo in France. Galvin is without a doubt the pianist to watch among the new generation.
Second half - Craig Taborn
Few musicians have received such unanimous praise in the music world as this talented American pianist, born in 1970. A seasoned soloist, his first recording was a solo album released by ECM (“Avenging Angel”, 2011). For this type of performance, Craig Taborn does not plan in advance what he will play. Instead, he draws inspiration from the feel and sound of the piano, as well as the atmosphere of the room, before choosing his pieces. Whether playing alone or with his trio, Taborn generally performs his own compositions, which might veer between rhythmic or fragmented melodic lines and romantic phrases, like blues with strong African-American origins. Drawing on music that evolved throughout the last century, Taborn is an exceptional talent at the vanguard of the 21st century, and is guaranteed to captivate his audience.
Anne LegrandMember of the Jazz Academy
The artists
Elliot Galvin
Piano
'He reminds me of the young Django Bates, and the impression Django made on me in the 1980s - great improv chops, strong character as a player and a composer, evident love of the jazz tradition without wanting to repeat the past, very English sense of humour. He’s the kind of artist you always want to stay tuned in to, because you know he’s going to keep on coming up with surprises.’ John Fordham
Elliot Galvin is one of the rising stars of UK jazz. A superbly gifted composer and pianist, whose maverick imagination and magpie like ability to blend a disparate world of influences into his own unique musical vision has seen him compared to Django Bates although in truth he sounds like no one except himself. From de-constructing standards to creating his own mirco-tonal melodica, Galvin’s music is both playful and deadly serious drawing on a wide range of influences from Keith Jarrett to Stravinsky, Ligetti, Deerhof and the Beatles as well as the films of David Lynch, the Dada movement and the literature of James Joyce. A regular collaborator with Laura Judd, he also plays in a free improve duo with Mark Sanders and leads his own band The Influencing Machine.
Craig Taborn
Piano
Composer/Pianist/Electronic Musican Craig Taborn was born and raised in Golden Valley, Minnesota. While Studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Craig had the good fortune to play in the illustrious Detroit jazz community performing and studying with such luminaries as Marcus Belgrave, Harold Mckinney, Francisco Mora, Rodney Whitaker, and Kenny Cox.
He has played and recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Berne, Steve Coleman, Lester Bowie, Evan Parker, Bill Laswell, David Torn, Mat Maneri, James Carter, Marty Ehrlich, Chris Potter, Leroy Jenkins, Joe Maneri, Susie Ibarra, Carl Craig, Bill Frisell, Drew Gress, David Binney, Dave Douglas, Lotte Anker, Gerald Cleaver, Adam Rogers, Hugh Ragin, Meat Beat Manifesto, Rudresh Manhattappa, Graham Haynes, and Rob Brown among others.
He is currently a member of Chris Potter’s Underground, Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory and Quintet, Tim Berne’s Hard Cell and Science Friction ensembles, Drew Gress’ 7 Black Butterflies, Gerald Cleaver’s Uncle June, Farmer's by Nature with William Parker and Cleaver, Anker/Taborn/Cleaver, David Binney’s Welcome to Life band and Quartet, and Susie Ibarra’s trio.
He was voted Best New jazz Talent in 2004 by Musica Jazz (Italy) and hailed as the « #1 rising Star Keyboardist » in the 55th and 56th Downbeat Critics poll.
Taborn currently leads a trio, the 5 piece Junk Magic, the Ancients and Moderns ensemble and is a member of progressive noise/punk band The Gang Font and does frequent solo performances on both acoustic piano and electronics. He lives in Brooklyn.
Partners
The programme
- Part 1
- Elliot Galvin, solo piano – improvisation set
- Part 2
- Craig Taborn, solo piano – improvisation set
