S T E F A N O R I N S J a z z P i a n i s t
Trio Favreuille Motury Orins
Décès de Christophe "Pher" Motury
Le dimanche 5 avril 2020, Pher, Christophe Motury, est parti après des années de combat contre la maladie.
Immense musicien, Pher a été de toutes les aventures et expériences des collectifs Muzzix, et auparavant de Circum et du Crime.
Trompettiste de jazz, chanteur de blues, fan de Chet, il n’a jamais eu peur de se frotter aux expérimentations sonores les plus extrêmes.
Drôle, curieux, charmeur, crooner, chaleureux, humain, les qualificatifs manquent. Il aura accompagné certains d’entre nous comme un grand frère, un ami avant tout.
Julien Favreuille (tenor sax)
Christophe « Pher » Motury (flugelhorn)
Stefan Orins (piano - composition)
Les trois musiciens se connaissent et jouent ensemble dans diverses formations depuis le début des années 90. Stefan Orins compose pour ce trio une musique mélodique, aérienne, inspirée par les grands espaces scandinaves de ses origines, la Suède. Les trois amis construisent un paysage sonore envoûtant grâce aux mélanges de leurs timbres sensibles et de leurs idées complices, une histoire...
"Till Minna Vänner" veut dire "à mes amis" en suédois, le témoignage d'une amitié entre trois musiciens qui jouent ensemble dans diverses formations, depuis le début des années 90.
L'album s'ouvre et se ferme sur le duo des cuivres à l'unisson, Julien Favreuille et son souffle puissant au saxophone ténor, et le velours poétique du bugle de Christophe Motury. Le pianiste Stefan Orins propose pour ce trio un nouvel angle de vue sur ses compositions les plus mélodiques. Les trois musiciens ont été enregistrés "live" à la maison, les uns à proximité des autres dans la même pièce, bénéficiants d'une brillante prise de son de Benoit Ganoote.
"Bodisattva", qui ouvre l'album, terme bouddhique d'un état de vie altruiste, dévoile l'attitude des trois musiciens tout au long de l'album, s'entraidant les uns les autres à placer la musique et sa beauté au centre de leur attention. "Upplösning" (résolution), propose un dialogue totalement improvisé entre les 3 solistes sur fond de up tempo. Le calme et la sérénité de "Lugn" (tranquillité) évoquent les grands espaces des origines suédoises du pianiste. "Pétales au Vent", titre d'un recueil de poèmes de Daisaku Ikeda, offre une ballade valorisant Julien Favreuille. "Tabea fyller sju", introduit par le pianiste offre une mélodie évoluant au dessus d'harmonies complexes et mesures asymétriques. "Bruxelles Charleroi" est le témoignage sonore, des nombreux allers-retours en Pologne, que le compositeur était amené à faire régulièrement pour se produire. Enfin, "För", jeu de mot qui veut dire "pour" ou "destiné à", est un morceau dédié à Christophe 'Pher" Motury, morceau composé comme un hymne en hommage aux qualités humaines et musicales du musicien.
“Till Mina Vänner” means “to my friends” in Swedish, the testimony of a friendship between three musicians who have been playing together in various bands since the early 1990s.
The album opens and closes with the brass duo in unison, Julien Favreuille and his powerful breath on the tenor saxophone, and the poetic velvet of Christophe Motury’s bugle. Pianist Stefan Orins offers this trio a new perspective on his most melodic compositions. “Bodisattva”, which opens the album, a Buddhist term for an altruistic state of life, reveals the attitude of the three musicians throughout the album, helping each other to place music and its beauty at the centre of their attention. “Upplösning” (resolution), offers a totally improvised dialogue between the 3 soloists against a background of up tempo. The calm and serenity of “Lugn” (tranquility) evokes the wide open spaces of the pianist’s Swedish origins. “Pétales au Vent”, the title of a poem collection by Daisaku Ikeda, offers a ballad enhancing Julien Favreuille. “Tabea fyller sju”, introduced by the pianist, offers a melody evolving above complex harmonies and asymmetric measures. “Brussels Charleroi” is the sound testimony of the many trips back and forth in Poland that the composer had to make regularly to perform. Finally, “För”, a pun meaning “for” or “intended for”, is a piece dedicated to Christophe “Pher” Motury, a piece composed as a hymn in homage to the musician’s human and musical qualities.
The three friends build a bewitching sound landscape thanks to the mix of their sensitive timbres and their complicit ideas, a story…
Photo Philippe Lenglet
Photo Gérard Rouy
FAVREUILLE-MOTURY-ORINS «Till Mina Vänner»
Julien Favreuille (saxophone ténor), Christophe Motury (bugle), Stefan Orins (piano)
Attiches (Nord), 31 mai-1er juin 2018
Circum-Disc DIDI 1901 / www.circum-disc.com & Les Allumés du Jazz
Des nouvelles du Nord, avec ce groupe qui rassemble trois musiciens très actifs dans le haut des Hauts-de-France. Plaisir de retrouver Julien Favreuille, un peu perdu de vue par votre serviteur depuis les groupes Happy House (Olivier Benoit, Nicolas Mahieux, Jean-Luc Landsweerdt), Circum Grand Orchestra et autres aventures septentrionales. Plaisir aussi de réentendre le pianiste Stefan Orins, écouté plus récemment en trio ( http://lesdnj.over-blog.com/2017/10/stefan-orins-the-middle-way.html ), et Christophe Motury, repéré dans le Quartet Base.
La musique, composée par le pianiste, est d'une tonalité générale plutôt mélancolique, mélancolie chaleureuse et habitée. Le titre de l'album signifie en suédois (la langue familiale de Stefan Orins) 'Àmes amis', et c'est bien de cela qu'il s'agit, la célébration d'une longue amitié musicale. Harmoniquement les lignes sont tendues, complexes, et donc jouissives. Chaque instrument donne la sonorité la plus 'vraie' ou 'naturelle', même si aucun des deux adjectifs ne rend justice au sens profond de ce qui émane de cette musique : la musique est un artefact et une production culturelle, donc 'vérité' et 'naturel' sont impropres. Ce que j'essaie de dire, ou plutôt ce que j'entends par là, c'est que nous sommes loin du souci d'ostentation, de performance (et pourtant cette musique est très élaborée) ; seulement semble-t-il le souci d'être là et defairedelamusiqueensemble : quoi de plus beau ?
Xavier Prévost
.
En concert à La Malterie de Lille le 8 mai 2019
Avec le trio de Julien Favreuille, Christophe Motury et Stefan Orins, on a l’impression immédiate de revenir aux prémices du collectif Muzzix, à l’époque où il s’appelle encore Circum. On retrouve, dans ce disque très doux, les diverses influences de ces musiciens qui bourlinguent ensemble depuis 30 ans. On savoure la rigueur rythmique mêlée au goût de l’espace du pianiste (« Lugn »), avec un toucher comme du sable entre les doigts. On se réchauffe à la lumière wheelerienne de Motury, notamment lorsque sur « Bodhisattva » il s’offre un jeu tout en unisson avec le ténor de Favreuille, à l’écriture diaphane et galvanisante. Mais le trio aime aussi les atmosphères plus complexes, à l’image de « Upplösning », petite rupture dans une mer d’huile. Till Mina Vänner est un disque fait de complicité et de calme. Le titre de l’album, en suédois, signifie « à mes amis ». Depuis tout ce temps, le trio peut se dire les plus importantes des choses de la plus parcimonieuse des façons. On s’en délecte.
Par Franpi Barriaux // Publié le 27 octobre 2019
FAVREUILLE / MOTURY / ORINS
«Till Mina Vänner»
CIRCUM DISC, CIDI1901
Swedish-French pianist-composer Stefan Orins and French flugelhorn player Christophe Motury and tenor sax player Julien Favreuille have been playing together in various bands and different formats since the early nineties. So it was only natural for Orins to title this intimate trio album, recorded in his home in the spring of 2018, «Till Mina Vänner» (Swedish: for my friends).
The reference to Orins’ Swedish family roots inspired the spacious atmosphere of his seven new composition, drawing from the spacious nature sceneries spaces of of Sweden. Orins, Motury and Favreuille are perfect collaborators, focused at supporting each other to place music and its beauty at the centre of their attention. Their strong friendly approach is intensified further in the title and the spirit of the opening piece, the melodic «Bodisattva», referring in its turn to the Buddhist concept of altruism.
The trio manages to keep its emphatic interplay even on the loose and uptempo, free-improvised «Upplösning» (resolution). The serene and poetic «Lugn» (tranquility) even evokes subtle Nordic melancholy, delivered beautifully in the solos of Moutry, Favreuille and Orins. The following ballad, «Pétales au Vent», the title of a poem collection by Japanese, Buddhist philosopher and nuclear disarmament advocate Daisaku Ikeda, challenges the calm and peaceful atmosphere with an intense solo of Favreuille. «Tabea fyller sju» flirts with complex asymmetric cycles while «Brussels Charleroi» captures the sonic memories of Orins from his many trips back and forth in Poland. The last piece, «För», a pun meaning «for» or «intended for», is a hymn, homage dedicated to Christophe «Pher» Motury and his many musical gifts and qualities. It also captures the unique spirit of true friendship, expressed in such an intimate meeting.
Eyal Hareuveni
JULIEN FAVREUILLE & CHRISTOPHE MOTURY & STEFAN ORINS – TILL MINA VÄNNER (CD by Circum Disc)
Here we have Swedish title for a release by a Lille-based trio of musicians from the Circum Disc Scene. The title is Swedish for ‘to my friends’. Why in Swedish? Pianist Stefan Orins has mixed French and Swedish origins, although born and raised in northern France, Scandinavian nature and culture is often also a source of inspiration for his music. The three musicians involved know one other since the early 90s and met in diverse combinations in the scene of Lille. All play for
example in the Circum Grand Orchestra. Stefan Orins has the biggest presence on releases by Circum. For example, he has several albums out with his own trio with Christophe Hache on double bass and Peter Orins on drums. Now we are speaking of a very different trio with Motury playing the flugelhorn and Julien Favreuille tenor sax who make their debut with ‘Till Mina Vänner’, offering many lyrical moments in their melody-oriented jazz. The compositions by Orins are intelligent and multi-folded. In the opening track for example, ‘Bodisaattva’ we hear unison parts of sax and flugelhorn on the hand and parts where the performers play from juxtaposed positions. The performers play very sensitive and together, brewing some original and enjoyable moments. Like in the ballad ‘Pétales au vent’ or in ‘Tabea fyller sju’. With a nicely treated melody the composition, this is the track I like most from this release. But in general, it is a kind of jazz that I personally find difficult to relate to and turned out not very appealing to me. (DM)
Julien Favreuille / Christophe Motury / Stefan Orins
— Till Mina Vänner
(Circum-Disc CIDI1901, 2019, CD / DL)
by Peter Thelen, Published 2019-07-03
A most unusual jazz trio, in that there is no bottom end (drums or bass) to hold down the rhythm, but that’s not to say they’re not there, mostly implied by their absence using the piano. The title Till Mina Vänner means To My Friends in Swedish, and that’s what this group represents, three friends who have been playing together for many years in various
configurations: Julien Favreuille (tenor sax), Christophe Motury (flugelhorn), and Stefan Orins (piano) are all members of the Circum-Grand Orchestra, a twelve-piece not-so-ordinary jazz band that has been together for at least fifteen years, a part of the Muzzix collective of artists and groups that we have covered regularly in these pages. Within the seven melodic tracks included here, Orins’ piano typically plays the dominant structural role, though he gets plenty of solo time in as well, while Favreuille and Motury carry the lead melodic points, often harmonizing beautifully, other times offering solos and asymetric elements to the overall structure. In a general
sense, their sound is very soft and soothing, avoiding the jarring and chaotic elements of free jazz — everything here seems to be carefully scored, though there’s nothing in the credits saying who composed what, so one has to presume that these are all group compositions with plenty of space for improvisation, yet far from “free.” The sax and flugelhorn
together take playful turns in melodic conversations offering a warm sense of humor within the pieces, though throughout the players’ number one effort is support of the composition. Because of the instrumental configuration, there always seems to be plenty of space within the measures offering each of the players a chance to shine brightly on every cut. It may sound simple on paper, but the concept works beautifully.
Filed under: New releases, 2019 releases
Related artist(s): Stefan Orins
More info
http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/triojulienfavreuillechristophe
Favreuille/Motury/Orins
Till Mina Vänner
Circum Disc CIDL 1901
Daniel Carter/Patrick Holmes/Matthew Putman
Whoadie
577 Records 5835
Two quirkily titled trio sessions demonstrate the validity of creating sounds from unique combinations – in this case two horns and a piano – as long as the participations share similar ideas about composition and improvisation. While a subject line would describe one CD as American free improvisation and the other as French contemporary Jazz, the performances are similarly low key. It’s just that some of the tunes on Till Mina Vänner are a touch too enervating.
Explaining the titles, “whoadie” is New Orleans slang for close friends. And the participants, though of different backgrounds fit the bill. Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter has been at point zero of New York’s free music scene for more than 40 years, and has worked with almost literally every exploratory musician. Pianist Matthew Putman is better-known as an educator/scientist who specializes in nanotechnology; while clarinetist Patrick Holmes has played with stylists as different as Ryan Sawyer and Axel Dörner. Meanwhile “Till Mina Vänner” means “to my friends” in Swedish and its three participants, all French, have played together in various groups for about 20 years. Pianist Stefan Orins, who wrote the CD’s seven tracks, has worked with singers, Tomasz Dąbrowski and the Circum Grand Orchestra. Flugelhornist Christophe Motury and tenor saxophonist Julien Favreuille are also in the Circum Grand Orchestra as well as playing with Riccardo Del Fra, Bojan Z, Happy House and Moondog Madrigals.
Although the trio members use varied techniques and layer differing colors in order to free up motifs in Orins’ themes, saxophone slurs and brass peeps may create distinctive mini-climaxes, but don’t disturb the innate lyricism of most selections. In fact with abject tonality propelled through the pianist’s frequently gentle comping, horizontal tenor saxophone lines and burnished blowing from the flugelhorn wouldn’t frighten mainstreamers. “Bruxelles Charrlroi”, for instance, which balances on delicate flugelhorn puffs and piano key strumming, could be mistaken for a Ruby Braff and Ellis Larkins duet, an idea that isn’t negated when Favreuille joins with low-key flutter tonguing. There are some unexpected jumps and jiggles in the interpretations, but most are confined to sleek and regular note and tone construction.
Most telling is how the three handle “Lugn” and the concluding “För”. Polished key strategies float alongside delicate horn harmonies, during the first, until Orins’ pinpointed keyboard stabs meet up with Favreuille’s moderated tone cooperation, with the effort leading to a piano connection that seems half 18th Century Baroque and half 20th Century Cool. The exposition of “För” also carefully measured with the pianist’s metronomic pushes resembling in turn a march, a procession and a threnody. Drifting affiliations from clarion-range saxophone and serene, unhurried flugelhorn notes draw the layers together for a distinctively restorative ending.
Post-modern in thought and execution, the New York-based friends’ nine group compositions are distinct from those on the other disc, even though Carter’s trumpet and Holmes’ clarinet output sometimes hook up with the same sort of harmonies. However Putman’s harder voicing and splayed keyboard variations easily distinguish between the two pianists. While the horns’ output may be correspondingly undulating, chromatic and fluid, stretched patterning from the pianist defines individuality. Plus the game plan from the horn players comes when both use reeds to either propel the theme or decorate it with expressive tonguing. “Stain at Home” is an example of this with high-pitched clarinet tones moving upwards to dog-whistle-like shrilling as Carter’s alto saxophone vibrates the melody. Juddering against one another, the timbres eventually push ahead in broken octave formation before exiting with equally harsh vibrations. Carter’s trumpet playing is also distinctive. It may be muted in parts but his broken chord affiliation energizes the other two’s improvisations.
At the same time Whoadie doesn’t eschew musical conventions. There’s a swing groove on “Parallel Perceptions” and a Blues underpinning on “Book about Waves”. Nonetheless performance of the first splinters the groove with contrapuntal reed hardness as the pianist goes his own way with a separate melody. As for “Book about Waves”, the supplementary glissandi added to the stride-like configuration from the pianist from the dual clarinets is soon torqued upwards so that Putnam speeds up his bass line as Homes’ moderato and warm glissandi become more expressive and polyphonic.
“Life Too Late”, the concluding and longest track is also the most distinctive. Beginning with an unaccompanied alto saxophone solo that curls out the exposition, that theme is soon colored by bright smears from the second reed and simple piano comping, allowing the piece to evolve with generous spills and obtuse motions. Before low-pitched clarinet breaths signal the end, galloping piano triplets and fluid chalumeau doits connect the three as the narrative falls downwards.
Through sympathetic interaction two trios have created memorable sessions. Furthermore if you speak the language, the titles confirm these activities.
—Ken Waxman
Track Listing: Whoadie: 1. Waaar-day 2. Here from Elsewhere 3. Glue You 4. Seriousnesses Vertigo 5. Book about Waves 6. Parallel Perceptions 7. Stain at Home 8. Deep Breath Then Carry On 9. Life Too Late
Personnel: Whoadie: Daniel Carter (alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet, trumpet and flute); Patrick Holmes (clarinet) and Matthew Putman (piano)
Track Listing: Till: 1. Bodisattva 2. Uppösning 3. Lugn 4. Pétals au Vent 5. Tabea fyller sju 6. Bruxelles Charrlroi 7. För
Personnel: Till: Christophe Motury (flugelhorn); Julien Favreuille (tenor saxophone) and Stefan Orins (piano)