The multitalented guitarist David Chevallier forms a telepathic unit with double bassist Sébastien Boisseau and drummer Christophe Lavergne. Invited by the Estonian Jazz Federation in September 2018, David Chevallier trio comes back to Estonia in February 2021 for five concerts with the singer Anett Tamm as part as the Francophonie month. The French trio and the young Estonian singer will perform excerpts from “The Ophelia Songbook” – a program inspired by the Shakspearian character of Hamlet. Jazzkaar presents their concert in Tallinn at Philly Joe’s Jazz Club on February 25th.
Created in 2017, the Ophelia Songbook is an exploration into women’s place in society. The Canadian singer Kyrie Kristmanson’s texts have been put to music by David Chevallier. In this songbook, the authors imagine the diary of Ophelia, one of the characters in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”. The diary and the personal letters of Ophelia have been found… and here a literary ghost turns into flesh and blood. For these concerts in Estonia, the rising talent singer Anett Tamm will be the voice of Ophelia. Songs? Folk? Jazz? These artists don’t worry about classifications!
Anett Tamm (c) Khris Marii Palksaar
David Chevallier has been one of the outstanding figures on the French creative jazz scene for many years. The trio he put together in 2013 with double bassist Sébastien Boisseau and drummer Christophe Lavergne has became a corner stone of his projects in recent years. The band started with a repertoire of revisited standards on electric guitar “Standards & Avatars”. Praised for its fresh perspectives the trio moved on to a “Second Life” in 2016 with a new and entirely original repertoire. David Chevallier changed his electric guitar for 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars and banjo, creating a unique trio sound, a kind of imaginary jazz-folk. Eager to get a wider and more complex sound, the whole creation is subtly computer assisted. “Second Life” is a new incarnation of an inspired trio.
Brought up in a family of musicians, David Chevallier studied classical guitar and became deeply fascinated by the idea of composing and the notion of improvisation in jazz. In his early years he made a name playing with jazzmen such as Laurent Dehors, Patrice Caratini and John Taylor. He founded his own musical company, the SonArt, which explores the possibilities of creating stimulating bridges between very different musical worlds. He is particularly interested in creating meeting points between baroque music and contemporary jazz. Through these musical emotions, he adopted the theorbo and the baroque guitar which he uses both to play Björk songs and to play in continuo. But rest assured, David Chevallier has not however discarded the electric guitar nor jazz!
David Chevallier, Sébastien Boisseau, Christophe Lavergne (c) Annabelle Thiaffay
David Chevallier trio & Anett Tamm The Ophelia Songbook
David Chevallier, acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars, banjo, laptop
Sébastien Boisseau, double bass
Christophe Lavergne, drums
Guest: Anett Tamm, vocals
Lyrics by Kyrie Kristmanson
Tour program in Estonia from February 18th to 25th 2021
Thu 18/02 rehearsals in Tallinn
Fri 19/02 Viljandi, Ancient Music Centre*
Sat 20/02 Mõniste Rahvamaja*
Sun 21/02 Põlva, Cultural Centre*
Mon 22/02 Abja Paluoja, Kultuurimaja*
Thus 25/02 Tallinn, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre / workshop by the trio
Thu 25/02 Tallinn, Philly Joe’s / Jazzkaar Winter Jazz/ concert also on Philly Joe’s TV
Tour production: Lune de trois
Tour booking and tour management: Vapaat äänet
* in cooperation with Uus Kontsert with the support of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Tour support: French Institute of Estonia, Bureau Export/CNM , Institut Français – Ville de Nantes, Drac des Pays de la Loire, AJC – Association Jazzé Croisé
In partnership with Kumu drums.
Blog of the tour https://en.lesonart.net/blog
David Chevallier trio (lesonart.net)
Anett Tamm (in Estonian)
The Ophelia Song Book – created in 2017 with Kyrie Kristmanson
The Ophelia Songbook | Le SonArt