Julien Tassin Quartet

After two critically acclaimed albums (Sweet Tension, 2018 & Moondancer, 2020), Julien Tassin, Nicolas Thys and Dré Pallemaerts join forces with an internationally renowned special guest: Jason Palmer. The American trumpet player is known for his own work and his collaborations with Roy Haynes, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Smith , Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ravi Coltrane, Mark Turner and many more.

The new project is entitled “Great Expectations”, which refers to Julien’s feelings about life, hope, expectations, happiness and deceptions. The fact that we have to move forward, being resilient all the time.

Like in classical music, most of the pieces are composed in several movements, with every piece reflecting a different mood, a different atmosphere. Each song is a story in itself , channelling between various grooves, but always with a cinematic undertone. However, there’s still a lot of room for improvisation and interaction. One of the long-time strengths of the trio, and without a doubt an eye-catcher during their live performances.

Speaking of the collaboration with Jason Palmer, it is safe to say that this is one of Julien’s most ambitious projects to date. Compositions which respond to the deeper, emotionally speaking, often characterised by darker harmonies and melodies.

During the writing process, Julien was influenced by all things ECM jazz (Jakob Bro, Bill Frisell), spiritual jazz (Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Sonny Sharrock) , experimental jazz (Mary Halvorston, Nels Cline, Loren Connors) and contemporary classical music (Lucianio Cillio).

“Great Expectations” will be released November 2023.