Melodolodie
SSC1116 2003-09-09
Track List
Bifurq Blues - 6:38
Melodolodies - 5:03
Prelude- Come Sunday - 5:32
La Valse A 30 Ans - 8:36
Awas - 5:59
Digue - 6:55
Dazzil Jazzil - 5:25
Musicians
Arnold Mueza - percussion
Vincent Artaud - bass
Baptiste Trotignon - piano
Daniel Bruno Garcia - drums
Jerome Barde - guitar
The fact is, from the very first note, Jérôme Barde's guitar is recognizable among a thousand others : music from the soul, a subtle balance between sweet and sour, an obvious instinct for the essential and a most touching melodic and expressive style.
Jérôme holds in his playing the universal light that illuminates each and every musical emotion : the song. This is characteristic of great musicians, some would say. Although Jérôme Barde imprints and dominates the album throughout, the young pianist Baptiste Trotignon is incontestably prodigious in his dazzling interventions.
Reviews
French guitarist Jerome Barde has the goods to become a major force in modern jazz. Moreover, the liners to Melodolodie state that he has created and patented a guitar simply known as the "Bardophone, although he wasn't able to use that on this release."Here, he performs on a strikingly resonant axe made by the French luther Frank Cheval. Barde's energized performances are crafted with a guitar that possesses somewhat of a stereo sound. This is a rapidly paced set, awash with jaunty swing grooves, reinforced by a top-notch bass/piano/drums trio, and also featuring a percussionist on two tracks. Barde's fluent lines and complex chord voicings instill a sense of perpetual motion. The band effortlessly glides thru odd-metered Latin pulses and perky shuffle grooves, to complement a few stylistic and perhaps subliminal nods to Django and Strauss along the way. The music often gravitates to soaring peaks amid vibrant rhythms and unwieldy twists and turns.
As a whole, the production is effervescent, powerful, and undeniably focused. No doubt, Barde is a promising composer and one heck of an improviser. Overall, this is an invigorating affair. Zealously recommended.
~ Glenn Astarita, All Music Guide
