Jazz Archives

Trombonist, composer, and bandleader Claude St-Jean has had some of his greatest success with L'Orkestre des Pas Perdus, his high-spirited alternative brass band that layers horn riffs inspired by Frank Zappa and Carla Bley over funky drum-and-sousaphone grooves. With his latest band Les Projectionnistes, St-Jean continues further down the path toward bone-crunching funk jazz and rock. T'auras Pas Ta Pomme is positively pastoral compared with Copie Zéro, the first CD by Les Projectionnistes. St-Jean's quintet seems inspired by such blistering avant funk and metal units as Belgium's X-Legged Sally and New York composer/guitarist Nick Didkovsky's Doctor Nerve, groups that kick in with massive energy bursts from the first bar and rarely ease up on the throttle during any of their tunes. There are strong parallels in St-Jean's writing for both L'Orkestre des Pas Perdus and Les Projectionnistes, including punchy unison lines from the horns, constant propulsive forward momentum from the rhythm section, and many opportunities for hot soloing. The principal difference is the presence of Bernard Falaise, who on Copie Zéro is given free rein to exercise his hard rock and even blues-inflected chops on electric guitar. Falaise wails away whenever an opportunity arises, often pushing the band to incendiary heights, and St-Jean matches the guitarist's energy with his own burning, distorted trombone. Tracks like CD openers "Hiboux" and "Laïc Laiton" rock out at a pulse-quickening pace; the third tune "Jeu de Bloc" effectively demonstrates the group's mastery of subtler dynamics, with Bill Frisell-styled chord washes from Falaise providing atmosphere during a beautifully executed trombone break.
Like L'Orkestre des Pas Perdus, Les Projectionnistes plays tunes that are all rather brief. The exception is "Ballet Mécanique," an 11-minute collective improvisation performed live in October 1997 (with Nicolas Masino on bass and piano) as accompaniment to a 1924 surrealist film by Fernand Léger. This episodic piece begins diffusely but gathers a fearsome energy, thanks in large part to Leclerc's alternating cacophonous and driving percussion, before dissipating into space as the CD draws to a close. Copie Zéro presents an ensemble that loves to burn through fast-moving charts, but "Ballet Mécanique" proves that Claude St-John and Les Projectionnistes are quite capable musical explorers in unconventional surroundings without written scores to guide them.

:::Review by Dave Lynch:::

Les Projectionnistes - Copie Zero (1999)

1. Hiboux (5:10)
2. Laic Laiton(5:49)
3. Jeu De Bloc (6:48)
4. Circulez! (4:06)
5. Pour Toi Ma Cherie. (4:55)
6. Cacao Chaos (5:15)
7. 7e Balcon (4:24)
8. Vacances (6:16)
9. Les Petits Matins (5:57)
10. Nuit Blanche (5:30)
11. Ballet Mecanique (11:31)

Credits
- Claude St-Jean / trombone
- Pierre Labbé / tenor saxophone
- Roberto Murray / alto saxophone
- Rémi Leclerc / drums
- Bernard Falaise / electric guitar
- Tommy Babin / bass

Guest musician
- Nicolas Masino / bass (11)