ROBERTO FONSECA & VINCENT SEGAL

NUIT PARISIENNE A LA HAVANE

Artwork Records

Roberto Fonseca, piano/composer; Vincent Ségal, cello/composer.

Roberto Fonseca is an acclaimed Cuban pianist. Vincent Ségal is a renowned French cellist.  Together, they offer us a duo concept heavily based in European classical music but beautifully influenced by Afro-Cuban traditions, while embracing contemporary jazz improvisation.

Fonseca has roots with the historic Buena Vista Social Club.  He played with them in his early years. His piano mastery encouraged work with other master musicians including Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding and Fatoumata Diawara.

Vincent Ségal is a man of many talents, easily crossing genres to bring his cellist beauty to collaborate on projects ranging from Cesaria Evora to Elvis Costello; from Ibrahim Maalouf to Ballaké Cissoko.

On “Nuit Parisienne” the two artists flash back to Fonseca’s connection to Paris and to Ségal’s memories of smoky Parisienne nightclubs that featured jazz artists like Art Farmer and Chet Baker.  On the verse of this song, a voice blends in unison with the cello.  I wonder if this is Roberto or Vincent singing along wordlessly?  The original composition by Roberto Fonseca stops me dead in my tracks. It is quite emotional and melodic, with a chanted melody that makes this listener want to sing along.

The pianist describes these original compositions and arrangements as “several short films, each with its own story.”  The duo has recorded eleven original tunes.

Pianist Roberto Fonseca was born March 29, 1975, in Havana, Cuba. Initially, he was playing drums, but Fonseca switched to the piano at age eight. He comes from a musical family.  Hs father was a drummer and his mother a vocalist. He heard and learned the jazz style early in life. Then, made his professional debut to the music scene at the young age of fifteen. He has released nine solo albums, to global acclaim.

Vincent Ségal was born in 1967, a native of Reims, France.  He studied at the National Music Academy of Lyon and Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Playing as a duet is no new thing to this gifted cellist.  In 1986, he and Cyril Alef formed a band called ‘Bumcello.’  It was an electronica duo and won the Victories de la Musique award. He was named Electronic artist of the year in 2006.  He has worked with Sting on the album “If on a Winter’s Night.”  His discography is extensive.

Together, this unusual duet of piano and cello explores jazz in a very European classical way. They insert both French and Cuban cultures in a unique and appealing way. For example, on Ségal’s brief original composition titled “Violoncelle Pointe Noire” he teases the listener with only the interlude of a song that lasts just fifty-one seconds.  Still, it completely captured my attention. This is followed by a song that both musicians collaborated on entitled, “Free.” Here the two musicians spread wings and fly totally free into my listening room, tickling the air with unexpected Avant-garde jazz.

This album is a journey into the power of two brilliant musicians and composers. They bring their cultures, their talents, and their creativity together like a strong handshake.  With fingers entwined and open minds, they stretch their artistry from a studio room to our hearts. They capture moments of spirituality and unexpected improvisations, like wild birds flying freely through an open sky. This music blossoms warm, intoxicating and wonderful, like their tune “Interlude Piano Silence Sound” that lasts less than a moment, but still touches me deeply, or their final song on the album “Te Extraño” that summarizes the beauty of two.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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