Renaud Garcia-Fons – Blue Maqam

French musician Renaud Garcia-Fons is considered one of the most virtuosic double bassists of our time in the worlds of world music and jazz. He prefers to play a five-string double bass, allowing him to achieve unusual technical and tonal effects, especially in the instrument’s highest registers. During the tour for his current album Blue Maqam, the focus is on the combination of double bass and voice — a first not only because Solea Garcia-Fons is his daughter, but also because vocals have long been absent from his musical universe.

As often in Garcia-Fons’ musical world, the cultures of the Mediterranean take center stage, but this time the journey also ventures through Persia, and, more unexpectedly, Ireland — insularity obliges! Blue Maqam features eight sung languages, forming a kind of miniature Babel where the lyrics, written by Renaud and Solea, evoke emotional landscapes in the style of haikus.

At the heart of the music lies the bass/voice pairing – a delicate and powerful dialogue. Solea’s singing marks a new chapter, both as a daughter and as a performer. The vibraphone lines of Stéphan Caracci (who also plays bass marimba during the double bassist’s aerial passages) and the percussions of Jean-Luc Di Fraya create a subtle canvas for the musical flights of the Garcia-Fons duo.

Garcia-Fons emerges once again as one of the sorcerers of the contemporary jazz scene, a fascinating bridge-builder. He is among those who have regularly reshaped the course of jazz, enriching its language with distant aromas and influences. His playing surprises with its expressiveness, especially given the traditionally grounded role of the double bass – here equipped with a fifth high string, revealing an orchestral universe under his nimble, playful fingers.

The ensemble sounds like a bold universalist manifesto, especially poignant in times overshadowed by growing uncertainty.

Line-up:

Renaud Garcia-Fons – double bass & compositions

Solea Garcia-Fons – vocals

Stéphan Caracci – vibraphone & marimba

Jean-Luc Di Fraya – drums & percussion