#streamcaribbean - "Phoenix" by Grégory Privat (February 2024)
Yé Moun La! It's time for the #streamcaribbean album reviews of the 2024 July/August holiday.
In 2020, I introduced you to Grégory Privat in a Karayib Focus. A lot has happened in 4 years. In addition to solo albums such as "Yonn" (2022) and "Nuit et Jour" (2023), he won the Django Reinhardt Award in 2024 which made him the French jazz musician of the year... At the dawn of his forties, he has nothing left to prove. And yet, he continues to take risks with the album "Phoenix", released in February.
If the simplicity of "Yonn" and "Nuit et Jour" gave access to a more sober, more intimate Grégory Privat, the "Phoenix" album takes us back to the musical exploration which began over ten years ago. In my Focus Karayib, I compared Grégory Privat's music to a Big Bang. Let me continue the metaphor by saying his music is solar like "Hypnotik Soleil" [Hypnotic Sun], his most recent collaborative album with Franck Nicolas.
From his storytelling skills in "Ki Koté" (2011) to the jazz-pop-electro fusion of "Soley" (2020) and the piano/percussion dialogue in "Luminescence" (with Sonny Troupé; 2015), Grégory Privat coordinates all these elements in "Phoenix". With double bass player Chris Jennings and drummer Tilo Bertholo, he creates a futuristic cosmos inspired by the darker aspects of Caribbean history. As announced in the promotional pictures for the song "Supernova", the trio takes us sailing between the stars and tells us a quest for light.
Like the tracklist, which mixes cultural references that an international audience can understand, the sunny, hip-hop-tinged energy of "Genesis" and "Heliopolis" fights against the darkness of contemporary issues such as the chlordecone scandal in "Chlordeconomy", separation/grief over absence in “Lotbò-A” and the lack of communication in "Téléphone". The melodies reflect this sense of urgency for change, becoming faster and faster until they reach a climax with "Fè Lanmou". "Apocalypse" marks a return to gentleness. What was destroyed no longer exists, but this marks the beginning of a new era. “Phoenix" ends on a note of hope. Always poetic yet realistic, Grégory Privat's jazz never forgets the past to remain focused on the future. As he sings in "Supernova", the answer to our existential questions won't come from outside, but from the stardust inside our hearts.
My Karukerament tracks
Supernova: Gregory Privat's singing voice always throws me off, but I find it works well here. The melody stays in your head.
Chlordeconomy: it makes me feel like I hear the street, the voice of the people demanding justice.
Apocalypse: for me, this track is the one that embodies the Caribbean hybrid identity the best. What could have been negative and lead to chaos actually creates a new and better order. Between Creole and French lyrics, a back-and-forth between "classic" and "Caribbean" jazz. The percussion, discreet but present, supports the piano... A subtle blend of cultures where human beings can flourish. As long as you find the right balance, and that's what we're looking for. That's the Caribbean.