UMLAUT BIG BAND (2015)

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UMLAUT BIG BAND

© Simon Lambert

Fourteen young musicians with backgrounds in jazz, classical, and contemporary music bring their energy and virtuosity together to perform big band jazz of the twenties and thirties. Crazy dancers, lonely lovers, unstoppable party animals, mixed families, and jazz enthusiasts: you are all invited to revel in the madness of the Roaring Twenties:

Swing, swing, swing!

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UMLAUT BIG BAND PORTFOLIO

Summary

GENERAL PRESENTATION ............................................................................... 3

A UNIQUE REPERTOIRE .................................................................................. 4

A FESTIVE CONCERT ..................................................................................... 5

RECORDS ................................................................................................... 6

PRESS REVIEW ............................................................................................ 7

CONCERTS ................................................................................................. 8

THE MUSICIANS ........................................................................................... 9

TECHNICAL RIDER ....................................................................................... 10

CONTACTS, LINKS AND PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS .............................................. 12

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UMLAUT BIG BAND

GENERAL PRESENTATION Together since 2011, the musicians in the UMLAUT BIG BAND first met thanks to Umlaut Records, a musicians’ collective for improvised music based in Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm. Under the direction of Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, the band now works with jazz arrangements of the 1920’s and 1930’s, some of which are quite rare. After a meticulous period of musical research, transcription and rehearsal, the band brings this music back to life, both on stage and on record. Adding to the ensemble’s uniqueness is the energetic, festive atmosphere the band creates, providing a joyous acoustical experience that recalls the good ol’ swing bands of almost 100 years ago. The big band happily invites their audience from all walks of life to come dance, enjoy, and simply let go to the sounds of swing! The UMLAUT BIG BAND interprets arrangements from such American jazz luminaries as Fletcher Henderson, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Jimmie Lunceford, Casa Loma Orchestra, Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, and many others. These arrangements also bring back to life an impressive collection of vintage dance moves, including the Jive, the Charleston, the Big Apple, Trucking, Swing, the Lindy Hop, the Shag, the Balboa, the Foxtrot, Bebop, and on and on! The orchestra has performed in international festivals (in Stockholm, Paris, Berlin, etc.), for ballroom dance parties (including the Spirit of Lindy in Paris), and most frequently for popular dancing events. The big band’s first record “Nelson’s Jacket” (Umlaut Records, 2013) is a tribute to five American arrangers of the 1930’s. Their new record is dedicated to jazz big band music in Europe between 1926 and 1940.

UMLAUT BIG BAND

SAXOPHON / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Pierre-Antoine Badaroux. SAXOPHONS : Antonin-Tri Hoang, Geoffroy Gesser, Pierre Borel, Benjamin Dousteyssier. TRUMPETS : Brice Pichard, Louis Laurain, Emil Strandberg. TROMBONES : Fidel Fourneyron, Michaël Ballue. PIANO : Bruno Ruder. GUITAR : Romain Vuillemin. BASS : Sébastien Beliah. DRUMS : Antonin Gerbal.

PRODUCTION : Nawel Benziane M : umlautbb@gmail.com / T : +33 (0)6 30 73 64 24

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A UNIQUE REPERTOIRE

The ensemble focuses on music from the early 20th century. Despite the high volume of recorded material from this period, a lack of conservation methods and the disappearance of many scores has made it almost impossible to access entire musical collections. UMLAUT BIG BAND’s repertoire is based primarily on transcriptions of available recordings, oftentimes the only “living” proof of these musicians’ works left today. The band's repertoire consists of more then 100 works, some well-known, others almost-forgotten treasures. A concert (45-50 min.) can be thematic, can be a festive party (2/3 sets of 45 min.) and can then feature a more varied dancing playlist.

EXAMPLES OF CONCERT PLAYLIST Umlaut Big Band’s Europe program The most original and fresh repertoire of the band since it’s the most recent! This album celebrates the arrival of jazz in Europe (1926-1940). Umlaut Big Band plays Don Redman This saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and composer possessed the rare qualities of both versatile saxophone player and prolific writer. If history has sometimes forgotten him, his music remains timeless while listening to 1920’s arrangements for the Fletcher Anderson Orchestra all the way through his eccentric experiments with Bebop pioneers.

Umlaut Big Band plays Duke Ellington Since the mid-1920’s, Duke Ellington was perhaps the most important figure within the jazz orchestras of New York (and indeed, within the entire USA!). A shiny, prolific and sensual music from one of the greatest orchestral innovators of all time. Umlaut Big Band swings the 20s Paradoxically enough, the music of the 1920’s set the framework for jazz practices of the coming decades while also maintaining it’s own unmistakable sound. Broken and full of surprises, the orchestral formula will evolve in the 1930’s into a more continuous version, close to the transe, insisting on the beat regularity.

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A FESTIVE CONCERT

“Generally the audience smiles during the first set, shakes head on the

second one, and sets the dance floor on fire on the third.”

JC, Umlaut Big Band au Pan Piper, in Blog LYLO, (21.12.14)

The big band is willing to play in a concert environment similar to that of its original setting: that is, providing the enjoyment of dancing in front of a live acoustic orchestra made up of world class musicians. This creates a special proximity between audience and performer, providing a musical as well as human experience that many orchestras of today cannot replicate.

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RECORDS

“NELSON’S JACKET” (Umlaut Records, 2013) This boxed set of 4 vinyl LP record 45s features musical portraits of 5 American arrangers from the 1950s: Gene Gifford, Will Hudson, John Nesbitt, Benny Carter and Mary Lou Williams.

NEW ALBUM (in production) Jazz composers in Europe (1926-40)

For their new record, the band chooses to focus closer to home, on early jazz in Europe. After researching the arrival of jazz in Europe and its development from 1926 until 1940, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux built a new repertoire based on the work of European musicians who discovered and took over jazz in their own surprising ways. These 19 tracks tell us the amazing story of the jazz birth and revolution in this new territory. Release Party: 27th June 2015 at La Dynamo (Pantin, FR)

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PRESS REVIEW

« A vivid orchestral machine right in line with the pure orthodoxy of big band swing.» - Jazz Magazine

« Earnest musicological approach, transcended by a sudden urge to dance,

diligently carried out by the Big Band.» - Les Inrockuptbiles

« Protection and promotion of a repertoire with Umlaut Big Band »

- France Culture

“This little gem, a musical firework.” - Le Berry Républicain

« The new generation of European improvisation celebrates the golden age of swing.

Far from a state of a frozen fossil, a real back to the future imagined by 14 fiercely energetic musicians.»

- Banlieues Bleues

« It's truly hard to resist wearing out the soles of your shoes with this highly convivial explosion of energy »

-LYLO

« Just look around you, everyone is smiling...» - Phil Grobi

Stéphane Olliver (2015), Spécial Banlieues Bleues, Jazz Magazine (n° 670 - Mars 2015) Louis-Julien Nicolaou (2015), Banlieues bleues 2015, extension du domaine du jazz, Les Inrockuptibles (18/03/2015) > http://www.lesinrocks.com/2015/03/18/musique/banlieues-bleues-2015-lextension-du-domaine-du-jazz-11605374/ Chantal Gonzales (2015). Le Umlaut big band est en residence, Le Berry Républicain (28/02/2015) > http://www.leberry.fr/cher/actualite/pays/boischaut/2015/02/28/le-umlaut-big-band-est-en-residence_11346140.html Maryse Bunel (2015). Concert au 106 : Le swing du Umlaut Big Band, Relikto.com site d’informations culturelles Haute-Normandie (24/01/15) > http://www.relikto.com/concert-au-106-swing-umlaut-big-band/ Banlieues Bleues, Programme de l’édition 2015 > http://www.banlieuesbleues.org/22_festival_edition.php France Culture (2014). UMLAUT BIG BAND : « Stop Kidding (Neckbones and Sauerkraut) » de John Nesbitt (live), Le live du Rendez-vous (18/08/14) > http://www.franceculture.fr/emission-le-live-du-rendez-vous-umlaut-big-band-%C2%AB-stop-kidding-neckbones-and-sauerkraut-%C2%BB-de-john-ne Matthieu Chauveau (2014). Umlaut Big Band, WIK-NANTES.FR, le magazine des sorties (06/07/14) > http://www.wik-nantes.fr/nantes/1/scene/umlaut-big-band JC (2013). Umlaut Big Band au Pan Piper, le 21 décembre, LYLO (21/12/13) > http://blog.lylo.fr/umlaut-big-band-au-pan-piper-le-21-decembre/ Phil Grobi (2013). UMLAUT BIG BAND - vendredi 19 avril 2013, Blog de Phil Grobi (19/04/2013) > http://philgrobi.blogspot.de/2013/10/umlaut-bigband-vendredi-19-avril-2013.html

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CONCERTS

UPCOMING: Festival Banlieues Bleues (Pantin, FR), Les Trois Temps du Swing (Seloncourt, FR), Jazz en

Herbe (Pont-de-Vaux, FR), Festival Guil-Durance (Embrun, FR), Jazz au Lavoir (Les Vans, FR), …

FESTIVALS

Festival inter-collectifs "Collision Collective" (Rouen, FR) – Jan. 2015

Paris Balboa Shag Festival au Pan Piper (Paris, FR), Jan. 2015, 2014

Festival Mens Alors (Mens, FR) - Août 2014

Festival Jazz en Rade (Le Pont, Suisse, CH) - Août 2014

MishigeNightCycle IV (Montreuil, FR) - Jan. 2014

Festival Umlaut Records (Berlin, DE) – Déc. 2013

Festival Hors Normes - Jazz en Rade (Le Pont, Suisse, CH) – Août 2013

Festival Phil Grobi (Clermont-Ferrand, FR) – Avril 2013

Festival Hagenfesten (Suède) – Août 2012

CONCERTS/BALS

Centre Culturel de Lublin : grand bal de la Saint-Sylvestre (Lublin, Pologne, PL) – Déc. 2014

Christmas Bal Swing de Spirit of Lindy au Pan Piper (Paris, FR) - Déc. 2014, 2013

Swing Bones Cabaret (Lille, FR) – Nov. 2014

Atelier Val d'Aubois-Le Luisant (Germigny l’Exempt, FR) – Fév. 2015, Août 2014

Le Chinois (Montreuil, FR) – Fév. 2015

Atelier Do Hamot (Montreuil, FR) – Déc. 2014, Juill. 2013

La Bobine (Grenoble, FR) - Août 2014

La source de la Doue (Abbevile, FR) - Août 2014

Les Italiennes de Clisson (Clisson, FR) – Juill. 2014

Maison Quartier Madeleine Champs de Mars (Nantes, FR) – Juill. 2014

Le Carreau du Temple (Paris, FR) – Juin 2014

Olympic Café (Paris, FR) – Avril 2014

Cirque Electrique (Paris, FR) – Oct., Nov. 2013

Carniv'Aligre (Paris, FR) – Sept. 2013

Bal du 14 juillet Aligre Party (Paris, FR) – Juill. 2013

Tampon-Nomade Party ! (Ivry-Sur-Seine, FR) – Mai 2013

RADIO

France Musique dans le Magazine des Festivals (Paris, FR) – Août 2014

France Culture dans le Live du Rendez-Vous (Paris, FR) - Août 2014

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THE MUSICIANS

Most of the UMLAUT BIG BAND musicians attended the Conservatoire National Supérieur de

Musique of Paris and they all belong to a new generation of dynamic, multifaceted artists

playing a mix of contemporary music, jazz, and various improvised musics all over Europe.

They are not afraid to take risks and equally enjoy the work of diverse artists from Jimmie

Lunceford to that of John Cage.

© Pierre Charles

PIERRE-ANTOINE BADAROUX: saxophone artistic direction

ANTONIN-TRI HOANG: saxophone

BENJAMIN DOUSTEYSSIER: saxophone

GEOFFROY GESSER: saxophone

PIERRE BORE: saxophone

BRICE PICHARD: trumpet

EMIL STRANDBERG: trumpet

LOUIS LAURAIN: trumpet

FIDEL FOURNEYRON: trombone

MICHAËL BALLUE: trombone

BRUNO RUDER: piano

ROMAIN VUILLEMIN: guitar

SEBASTIEN BELIAH: bass

ANTONIN GERBAL: drums

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TECHNICAL RIDER: UMLAUT BIG BAND, 14 MUSICIANS DANCING JAZZ ORCHESTRA

STAGE: 6m x 4m (minimum) BACKLINE thanks for providing: - 1 tuned grand piano (or upright piano) - 1 piano seat - 1 «jazz» drum set, high quality (Gretsch, Sonor...) with white skin (weather king coated) on every drum. Composition

. 1 bass drum 20'’

. 1 bass drum pedal, standard

. 1 snare drum 14'’, width 5'’

. 1 snare drum stand

. 1 tom medium 12'’

. 1 tom basse 14'’

. 2 cymbal stands

. 1 charleston pedal (hi-hat) with tilter

. 1 round drum seat, adjustable

. 1 drum carpet (minimum 2 x 2 m) - 11 armless seats - 13 music stands SOUND thanks for providing: - 1 wireless vocal micro + microphone stand + 2 monitors - 1 power supply (for the mini amplifier of the guitarist)

Technical contact: umlautbb@gmail.com or Pierre-Antoine Badaroux +33 (0)6 87 03 98 16

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Other general conditions: 14 musicians + 1 producer: a team of 15 persons altogether PLANNING Installation: 1 hour Sound check: 1 hour with a sound technician Concert: 1 to 3 set(s) of 45 minutes with 10/15 minute breaks DRESSING ROOM Heated room + possibility to lock the door + smoking area Catering: hot meal (with vegetarian alternative) + wine/beers + water + tea/coffee

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CONTACTS, LINKS AND PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

PIERRE-ANTOINE BADAROUX Artistic direction +33 (0)6 87 03 98 16 umlautbb@gmail.com NAWEL BENZIANE Production +33 (0)6 30 73 64 24 umlautbb@gmail.com

LINKS Listen https://soundcloud.com/umlaut-big-band Watch https://vimeo.com/search/sort:date/format:thumbnail?q=umlaut+big+band or https://www.youtube.com/results?search_sort=video_date_uploaded&search_query=umlaut+big+band&spfreload=10 Follow umlaut-big-band.tumblr.com Like https://www.facebook.com/UmlautBigBand?ref=hl Purchase records umlautrecords.com

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

Association UMLAUT BIG BAND 95 rue des Poissonniers

FR- 75018 Paris

N° SIRET 805 276 151 00018

COORDONNEES BANCAIRES

La Banque Postale IBAN : FR90 2004 1000 0165 7663 5X02 083

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BIC : PSSTFRPPPAR