Hommage à Jacques Brel
I first got to know Jacques Brel’s music when
I was about twenty years old. Before that I was familiar with only a
few of his songs, without knowing who the composer was. In particular,
I remember a beautiful musical version of Le moribond, which the Swiss
Italian radio used to broadcast around midday, probably played by the
Radiosa Orchestra directed by Robbiani.
When I started to explore in depth the repertoire of this great singer
and songwriter from Belgium, I discovered – not without a certain
amount of surprise – that I had already experienced a large part
of his work in a most particular way: the moods created by Brel had
spread into the music of Fabrizio De André, Paolo Conte, Jannacci,
Gaber and many other Italian composers that I admired very much. To
get to know Brel was therefore a truculent journey to the roots of the
work of European composers. This journey has led me to composers like
Brassens, Trenet, Vian and many more that have also formed the foundation
of our first CD (“Accordion Project”, MAP, 2003).
Discussion between the musicians of our group about a second CD soon
showed that some of Brel’s songs must be included, combining our
preferences with those of the audience. It seemed obvious and natural
to take our work a step further, to continue our musical experimentation
as on our first CD, and to create a symbiosis of musette and jazz, which
combines Charlie Parker with Edith Piaf.
Apart from Brel’s songs, the listener will also be able to enjoy
a number of new compositions from the musicians of our group and can
try to find some traces of Brel in them: the study of Brel has taught
us many lessons the results of which can be heard in our music...
Translated by Corinne Peggs
