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OVER THE HILLS

The only re-interpretation of the emblematic Carla Bley's Opera "Escalator Over The Hill" (EOTH), at the initiative of Bruno Tocanne and Bernard Santacruz with the imuZZic Grand(s)ensemble


"We listened to your wonderful version of EOTH last night and were amazed and delighted... It's the perfect combination of old and new, control and abandon, realism and abstraction. Paul Haines would have loved it. The playing and singing, as well as the arranging, are excellent... Great band... " CARLA BLEY

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Although that they are from different generations, all the artists involved in this project have realized by different pathways the importance of this period, from 1965 to 1980, for their music. For some through a immersion that was part of their learning, for others by desire to understand an essential part of the roots of music they create. These years have been amazing for the development the artistic and intellectual processes that founded any part of the improvised music of these past 40 years staked by landmark works.

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« Escalator Over The Hill » is one of those pivotal moments: not so much by the creativity and mastery of the composer and of musicians, but for the emergence of new compositional methods. The purpose is to build a continuum where the lines are constantly changing, where writing and improvisation have the same importance. Each musician is already involved at multiple levels in lot of projects that transcend any stylistic category.

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At this point of our individual work and after many collaborations on various projects, work around this project was therefore like an evidence as well as a necessity. The desire of course, but also give a different reading suitable for field exploration of possible, and develop the creation of other transversalities in the way opened by Carla Bley

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Jean Aussanaire (saxs)

Alain Blesing (guitar, efffects)

Rémi Gaudillat (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Antoine Läng (voice, effects - CH)

Perrine Mansuy (piano)

Fred Roudet (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Bernard Santacruz (bass, double bass)

Olivier Thémines (clarinets)

Bruno Tocanne (drums)

"...Your treatment of EOTH shines new light on Carla's work.  It's a remarkable accomplishment to re-interpret an original work, one with such a distinctive character, in a way that evokes the original but at the same time explores new meanings contained within it. Congratulations to you and the band for having performed such a service, to Carla and to the music we all love."  
STEVE SWALLOW  11/2015

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