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LeDUO plays Jacques Brel

This is the first volume in a series of albums dedicated to the greatest French singer-composers. LeDUO plays JACQUES BREL is a unique instrumental rereading of Brel's works.

This album also marks the return to the studio of legendary american producer Alan Douglas who was inspired by the American "songbooks" tradition.

Respectful to Brel's vocal phrasing and enchanting melodies, this recording reaches out to a wide audience of music lovers.

"In America, " songbooks " albums dedicated to the music of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Billy Strayhorn, etc. are countless. I have been living in France for more than four years and I'm astonished that there has apparently been only very few instrumental projects interpreting the repertoires of the greatest French composers. I once promised myself that if I could find the musicians talented enough to meet such a challenge, I would probably go for it, starting with Brel and Aznavour, my favorites. Well, here they are ! Perrine Mansuy and François Cordas, have been working on these first two albums since the beginning of 2006 and it has been a very satisfying experience."

Alan Douglas - april 2006.

Perrine Mansuy (piano) & François Cordas (soprano and tenor saxaphones) now known as LeDUO are two talented and refined french musicians both natives of the region of Provence. They met by chance at a club venue in 1996. Since this first encounter, a genuine musical and personal compatibility settled between them. Such a rare and precious relationship makes it irrelevant to wonder why they are making music together ... it's just an obvious thing to do.

Douglas was extremely impressed by the sensitivity and professionalism of both artists. Thanks to his experience of producing and working with some of the best american musicians and composers (Billy Strayhorn "The Peaceful Side of Jazz", Billie Holiday "Lady Love", Duke Ellington "Money Jungle", Eric Dolphy "Conversation & Iron Man", Bill Evans-Jim Hall "Undercurrent", John McLaughlin "My Goal's Beyond", Jimi Hendrix ...), he then decided they would be the perfect musicians with whom to produce a 'songbooks collection' of the great French composers - a project that had been on his mind for a long time.



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