The Magic Eye

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Editor's info:
"The Magic Eye" is Romain Pilon’s third album as a leader, which he finished to record recently.

For this project, the guitar player alternates the trio and quintet format through a new set of seven originals and one rendition of "Fleurette Africaine" by Duke Ellington. With influences drown from many musical genres, the result is fresh, modern and connected to the developments founded in jazz in the recent years, between Paris and New York.

The trio : In the past five years, Romain has played extensively with Fred Pasqua (drums) and Yoni Zelnik (acoustic bas). They have found a singular, highly interactive, approach to the jazz guitar trio, allowing the leader to develop his introspective lyricism and elegant sense of phrasing.

The quintet : an exciting and explosive meeting—for the first time ever on an album—of two of the most in-demand tenor players of our time, Ben Wendel and Walter Smith III. Joining the core trio on a series of compositions written to fit their respective styles and underlign their connections, Wendel and Smith deliver a modern version of the tenor chases a la Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray…

From hip-hop grooves to Brazilian feelings, from classic swing to more complex metrics… New York kind of urgency to pop folk reminiscences or a classic Duke Ellington ballad… Romain Pilon elaborates a musical suite with multiple references, intelligently assimilated. Deeply poetical, the compositions on this album are beautifully crafted and Romain’s playing is «world class» (Financial Times)

"Romain Pilon is a quick thinking player with an attractively warm, acoustic inspired tone… " Jazz Wise (UK)