DIAGONAL
Genres: Progressive Big Band, World Fusion • France

«If jazz today has a vertical (by its long history) and horizontal (by its universality) dimension, the “diagonal” ideally describes the direction chosen by J-C Cholet: to go from one to the other through this oblique and ascending way which crosses all the musical landscapes, from the most traditional to the most contemporary. Founded in 1990 under the name of Odéjy Octet (Orchestre Départemental de Jazz de l'Yonne (Jazz Orchestra of Departement Yonne)), Diagonal (renamed thus in 1999) resolutely turns the back to the conventional repertoire of jazz (if indeed there is one!) to draw its inspiration from European heritage. As a direct heritage of the Duke Ellington of the fifties and sixties - from which he is sometimes not so distant as a pianist - Cholet converts his suites into ambitious impressions of travel (real or imaginary) through the géo-cultural areas of the old continent. Followed by the “Suite Alpestre” read more...