Baptiste Herbin Trio Django!

Baptiste Herbin, saxophone

Sylvain Romano, double bass

Matthieu Chazarenc, drums

In the European context, there is one name that inspires admiration among the audience and great respect among musicians: Baptiste Herbin. His extreme dedication to the alto saxophone is heard and echoed on world stages, as he is technically and musically one of the most advanced European saxophonists. He is the winner of the Django Reinhardt Award, awarded by the French Jazz Academy, and he helped the French saxophone manufacturer Selmer develop the new “Supreme” model. Drawing from the bebop tradition of Charlie Parker, he maintains the lightness of virtuosity, phrasing and sound projection that only the greats can achieve. At the SAXGO festival, he will be performing in the trio formation Django with Sylvain Romano on the double bass and Matthieu Chazarenc on drums.

Together with Sylvain Romano and André “Dédé” Ceccarelli he also recorded the album of the same name dedicated to Django Reinhardt. The album was produced by Daniel Yvinec, a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who also accompanied the work on the album in the words:

“The preparation of this album was remarkably fluid. We imagined countless ways to evoke Django Reinhardt, through his era, his compositions, his solos, and through the eyes of those who paid tribute to him. Every idea and suggestion offered to Baptiste was met with lively and stimulating responses, as if, little by little, the language of the brilliant Gypsy jazzman seemed to merge with his own—natural, soulful, and vibrant. It was then up to the music to find its place.

During two intense days of recording, we captured about fifteen tracks and took the time to explore each version in depth, sometimes going as far as six or seven takes. With each new attempt, the sound was refined (letting it emerge, never forcing it…), and the space and contours were defined: the flashes of brilliance would be highlighted by the silences that contrasted with them.

“Django!” brings together three exceptional artists. Never self-centered, they ensure, through committed dedication and an impressive surrender, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Sylvain Romano’s double bass sound and harmonic clarity naturally assert the essential. With André Ceccarelli, it’s an incomparable signature, a wild vivacity, and above all, an enormous heart, offering itself entirely to the music.

Thus, in the trio’s stripped-down simplicity, nothing is lacking, and everything is crystal clear. Baptiste Herbin reveals himself to be exceptionally profound. His incomparable virtuosity gives way to an expression liberated from all artifice, revealing, like a rough diamond, the essence of the music. We then rediscover, in awe, Django’s work in a new, authentic, collective, and continually stimulating incarnation. Under his guidance, Baptiste Herbin himself becomes a master and soars to heights of inspiration frequented by the greatest. Django! It reveals an artist at the peak of his art, and celebrates the birth of an exceptional trio.”