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We are excited to be joined for the first time in our C. Bechstein Centre Manchester recital series by Adrien Brandeis!This evening's program will consist exclusively of original works by Brandeis, including:
1. Chick's Garden
This composition was written as a tribute to the American jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea (1941-2021). Corea is one of Adrien's favorite pianists, and has greatly influenced his approach to composition and improvisation. Chick Corea was a pianist-composer who had shaped the history of jazz, constantly innovating musically throughout his career. This piece, "Chick's Garden", takes up harmonic ideas that Chick Corea uses in his compositions, notably "Humpty Dumpty" and "500 miles high". It's a blend of jazz and Brazilian music, samba and alto partido. This track was recorded on Adrien Brandeis' second album, "Meetings" (2020).
2. Huachi-Huachi
This composition is taken from Adrien Brandeis' latest album, "Siempre mas alla » (2022) This album pays tribute to Mexico, a country Adrien has performed in and visited several times. The track refers to Huachinango Zarandeado, a typical Mexican dish that Adrien discovered on a trip to the state of Nayarit, on the Pacific coast. Musically, Huachi-Huachi is a piece based on the changui (traditional Cuban rhythm), to which are added several elements from jazz and Latin jazz.
3. Alegria
Alegria in Spanish means joy. Adrien's composition blends samba, blues and jazz rhythms. It's a track Adrien wrote during the Covid 19 pandemic. Adrien wrote several tracks during this period when everything stopped overnight, including this theme which refers to the joy of being able to return to a normal life. The piece is preceded by a high-pitched piano introduction, with a few quotations from the theme, before the tempo is introduced. The long improvisation section is supported by the left hand, which plays a rhythmic role in the manner of a Brazilian chorro guitarist.
4. Ek Balam
Ek Balam is a composition written in Mexico, featured on the album "Siempre mas alla". It concerns a Mayan archaeological site in the state of Yucatan, which Adrien visited. The site includes a 32-metre-high pyramid and numerous remains. While visiting this site, accessible through the jungle, Adrien was reminded of this little melody. In Mayan, "Ek Balam" means the Black Jaguar. Through the long improvisational section of this piece and the mysterious harmonies derived from impressionist composers, Adrien creates a musical painting to musically retranscribe the atmosphere of this unique archaeological site.
5. Del otro lado del mundo
From the other side of the world, in English, is a composition by Adrien to appear on his fourth album. It's a ballad influenced by Adrien's classical side. The theme includes influences from Chopin, notably the Nocturne-like first part, as well as impressionist harmonies from composers such as Ravel, Debussy and Satie, and jazz composers like Bill Evans, also influenced by French impressionist music. The improvisation part brings out all the harmonic richness of this composition.
6. Cha-Cha Maya
Cha-Cha Maya is a piece originally written for quartet, which Adrien has rearranged for solo performance. It's a cha-cha-cha, a Cuban rhythm. This solo piano arrangement features an ostinato left hand playing the cha-cha-cha rhythm. This track is the result of several elements that Adrien loves: Cuba and the Cuban chacha-cha rhythm, blues, jazz and be-bop, as well as Mexico and Mayan culture. After his travels in Mexico, Adrien made numerous visits to the Mayan states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. Fascinated by this culture, he decided to write a piece referencing it, in a very rhythmic and joyful style, the cha cha cha.
7. Samba para un Sol
Samba for a sun, in English, is also a new composition by the pianist. This piece is influenced by Brazilian music, another of Adrien's Latin influences, she is divided into two movements: First a long prelude, rubato at times, exposing the theme a first time, in a different key. After modulating, the main theme, a very up-tempo samba. There are three improvisation parts in the piece, the longest being the last, a highly rhythmic vamp section, before ending with an explosive coda.
About Adrien:
Adrien Brandeis is a French Pianist, Jazz composer and Arranger. After attending the Nice conservatory, he completed his musical studies in Paris with Manuel Rocheman and graduated from the CRR conservatory in Paris. He subsequently produced his first quintet album ‘Euforia’, which allowed him to enter the international scene after having presented in Asia then winning the prestigious Letter One Rising Stars Jazz Award 2018. On the French Scene, he has won numerous awards including the first prize at Jazz a Juan and the the audience prize at Jazz a Porquerolles in 2017. Very attached to Latin music, he left to study in Havana with Ernan Lopez Nussa in order to perfect his knowledge in September 2019. These meetings and trips enriched his playing and allowed him to write his second album ‘Meetings’, which he recorded in quartet with Damien Nueva, Arnaud Dolmen, Inor Sotolongo and as a special guest Orlando Poleo. ‘Meetings’, released in October 2020 by Jazz Family, was selected in the top 10 best jazz albums in France in 2020 by TSF Jazz radio.
After two tours in Mexico in May and November 2021, where he was very well received by the Mexican public, he created a strong bond with this country and was fascinated by its culture and the places he visited. It is then, that he decided to record his third album "Siempre más allá", a testimony of his experiences and his personal tribute to Mexico.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
C. Bechstein Centre Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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