I’d like to say that Britain is the spiritual home of jazz in Europe: we produced enduring heroes like Humphrey Lyttleton, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, and Kenny Ball, plus bestselling bandleaders like Ronnie Scott and Ted Heath, extending the shelf life of that old-time trad and swing well into the bebop era. But I’d be wrong, obviously: the spiritual home of jazz in Europe is and has always been, without any shadow of a doubt, France.
And just as it was in the 1930s—when Reinhardt and friends gave music a whole new genre in manouche—our Continental neighbor, sometimes ally and occasional mortal enemy is still turning out top quality jazz records. See, for example, Romance aux étoiles, the first full-length release by a young French trio Ophélie Luminati (drums), Ezequiel Celada (clarinet, sax, flute) and Auguste Caron (piano, clavier). They’re joined by singers Audrey Leclair, David Costa Coelho and Vincent Bassou (who doubles on guitar), plus violinist Rachel Bader for a montagnes russes ride through the idiom.
The result is a tour de force, heralding the arrival of a brilliant new outfit and making previous release Supraton in Marrakouch feel like a mere demo tape. That work was almost all instrumental and very piano-heavy—obviously an advantage, from my point of view—featuring covers of Jelly Roll Morton and other keyboard greats. It was almost all instrumental
