Leon Phal No Pain No Champagne

The origin of the album immediately marks its surprising character: the result of passionate discussions with winemaker Stéphane Regnault, who asked him to illustrate four of his cuvées. Recorded at La Frette studio, a rock lair rather than a jazz one (Nick Cave, Arctic Monkeys), "No Pain/No Champagne" represents a departure for Léon Phal.

A spearhead of a futuristic jazz born in the excitement of the 2010s, the Champagne native here abandons the ultra-modernity of previous works to infuse his jazz with a vintage palette inherited from Ahmad Jamal or the Headhunters, a nearly mythical era whose grooves he freely reinterprets. In all of it, he seeks out the oddity, the gimmick that catches the ear and steers jazz in a different direction—here towards a nervy hip-hop with Oddisee, soulful lyricism with Wolfgang Valbrun, or a worn house on “One Step Further.” It's a way to move away from rigid orthodoxy, avoiding confinement to any single style, confronting a certain tradition with the codes of rap, electro, or modern treatments of vintage groove. “Listening to Stéphane describe what each wine represented, their strengths and peculiarities, what made them unique, created a sort of musical universe within me,” explains the author. And so it is: in these complex but balanced assemblages reminiscent of the wines he enhances, the saxophonist plays with traditional jazz modes (Dorian, Mixolydian...) to approach the aromas or colors, seeking his cool and distinguished flavors in unexpected variations. By elevating the vocabulary and passion of the winemaker, he gives birth to a lush yet airy album, supported by a wealth of clear references and proposals.

Written impulsively during discussions with Stéphane Regnault, what was originally a stylistic exercise becomes, under this agile writing, a splendid perspective on the heritage with which the saxophonist grew up. A groove from yesterday in a modern setting, a clear line shaken by the history of music, by feeling, and by technology. And undoubtedly also a bit by the Champagne...