Emile Parisien
Spezial Snack

Vital, curious and progressive, the French scene is setting important milestones for the development of contemporary European jazz. Despite all its openness to musical cultures, genres and currents, it has never lost its grip on the ground.Progress on the feet of its own tradition characterises France's jazz and the saxophonist Emile Parisien is one of its protagonists: a jazz visionary with one foot in the past and his gaze far ahead. This makes him the "best newcomer to European jazz in a long time" (Le Monde), who should be given "undivided attention" (Norddeutscher Rundfunk). Parisien's musical coordinates are broadly defined, from the folkloric tradition of his homeland to the compositional strategies of new music to the melodic and harmonic abstraction of free jazz. The special quality of this broad musical field lies in the naturalness with which it is explored. Nothing in Parisien's music seems calculated or forced. Instead, the genre characteristics flow into one another in his music in an unstrained, light-hearted way and without conceptual protection.The result sounds furious and is great listening fun in many facets: from provocative-anarchic to rousing-swinging. Anyone who has ever experienced the lively Frenchman live on stage knows that he lives jazz with heart and soul. Authenticity and honesty resonate in every note. Awards were not long in coming: Parisien was awarded the two most important jazz prizes in France, the "Prix Django Reinhard 2012" and the "Victoires du Jazz 2014", as Artist of the Year. In Germany, he received the ECHO Jazz 2015 in the category "Best International Ensemble", for the rousing duo with his musical alter ego and close friend, the accordionist Vincent Peirani.