Paul Lay – piano
Isabel Sörling – vocal
Simon Tailleu – double bass
During this anniversary edition when we celebrate 25 years of jazz in the Semenic Mountains, French pianist Paul Lay and his trio will celebrate with their concert the 100+ years since the first jazz concert held in Europe, in Nantes, on 12 February 1918.
With “Deep Rivers”, the album released last year, Paul Lay Trio revitalise and rewrite popular American songs (from gospel to the songs of Nina Simone). With an extraordinary intuition, the three artists pay rich, emotional musical tribute to jazz, blues and American popular music.
“Instrumental Artist Of The Year” at Victoires du Jazz 2020, Paul Lay is one of the most en vogue French pianists. In 2016 he is awarded the Django Reinhardt “Best French Artists of the Year” prize by the French Academy of Jazz. Critics and audiences alike appreciate him for his excellent harmony imagination, his interesting compositions, his knowledge of jazz history and his personal musical tone. He performed in over 70 countries, on stages in New York, Toronto, Berlin and Warsaw. He has collaborated with Riccardo Del Fra, Géraldine Laurent, Eric Le Lann and Ping Machine. He is currently the leader of two trios with whom he has recoreded many albums. With Dre Pallemaerts and Clemens Van Der Feen he recorded “The Party” (2017), and with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu, with whom he will perform on the first day of the festival, he recorded “Alcazar Memories” (2017) and “Deep Rivers” (2020).
