FRANÇOIS LANA TRIO - Cathédrale
Leo Records CD LR 884
François Lana, piano; Fabien Iannone, bass; Phelan Burgoyne, drums
Recorded at Alfalfa studios, Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland: March and August 2019
Jazz from Switzerland, roots well embedded in its passion for jazz customs, with all its feral oscillations, this trio’s music is like a steak tartare: well-raw and served with capers and onions, pepper and chilli. Its natural component of improvisation is inherently free, yet heard as though it were an element of the music’s configuration. The trio contributes to the ‘Jazz Mondays’ programme in Baden, Switzerland, every Monday live in Bistro Isebähnli.
François Lana began with the piano at the age of 11 years. After studying until 2010 in Paris, he continued his training between Lausanne, Switzerland at The Lausanne Conservatory of Music and in Brussels, and obtained a Master of Arts in Music Performance in 2014. In 2016, he obtained a Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy at the Zurich University of Arts, Switzerland. He has performed widely in Switzerland and France, with this and other bands and has played alongside tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, drummer Victor Lewis and bassist Buster Williams.
He received, in 2017, a grant from Service de la Culture du Canton du Valais and is currently working on a solo electronic project in collaboration with others. He is also involved in many projects as a sideman including with Taïga (generically: dense African jazz and lilting African, folk-inspired guitar) and with the Argonauts’ Collective (fed by the influence and dynamism of the New York Jazz scene).
Fabien Iannone is a Swiss bass player who also plays synthesizers and percussion. His avid interest is in ancient rhythms and traditions of ritual, early electronic music and musique concrète. He was featured on bass on Pauline Ganty’s 2017 vocal album Après and travelled with pianist Nduduzo Makhathini’s Inner Dimensions tours in South Africa.
Phelan Burgoyne plays drums, guitar and percussion and is a composer, currently based between Basel, Switzerland and London, UK. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, with drummers Martin France and Jeff Williams and at the Hochschule für Musik, Basel, Switzerland. He has gained an international reputation touring across the UK and Europe and has released four albums, each to critical acclaim; Unquiet Quiet (2015) and Verdasio (2019) with his trio featuring saxophonist Martin Speake. Divertimento followed in 2018, in duo with ECM artist-pianist Emanuele Maniscalco, then Introducing REBOP in 2018 a quintet featuring legend Jorge Rossy on vibraphone.
His current project Slaughden features ECM artists Kit Downes and Fred Thomas. Jazz apart, Burgoyne plays the Rubāb; a traditional lute from Central Afghanistan. Burgoyne also works as a photographer in social documentary and portraiture.
The music is eclectic, ingenious and sincere and the trio’s performances are balletic, as they move between dialogue, inquisitiveness and revelation. Their tempo is flexible and warm and their inventiveness demonstrates the level of interaction between them.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Leo Records CD LR 884
François Lana, piano; Fabien Iannone, bass; Phelan Burgoyne, drums
Recorded at Alfalfa studios, Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland: March and August 2019
Jazz from Switzerland, roots well embedded in its passion for jazz customs, with all its feral oscillations, this trio’s music is like a steak tartare: well-raw and served with capers and onions, pepper and chilli. Its natural component of improvisation is inherently free, yet heard as though it were an element of the music’s configuration. The trio contributes to the ‘Jazz Mondays’ programme in Baden, Switzerland, every Monday live in Bistro Isebähnli.
François Lana began with the piano at the age of 11 years. After studying until 2010 in Paris, he continued his training between Lausanne, Switzerland at The Lausanne Conservatory of Music and in Brussels, and obtained a Master of Arts in Music Performance in 2014. In 2016, he obtained a Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy at the Zurich University of Arts, Switzerland. He has performed widely in Switzerland and France, with this and other bands and has played alongside tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, drummer Victor Lewis and bassist Buster Williams.
He received, in 2017, a grant from Service de la Culture du Canton du Valais and is currently working on a solo electronic project in collaboration with others. He is also involved in many projects as a sideman including with Taïga (generically: dense African jazz and lilting African, folk-inspired guitar) and with the Argonauts’ Collective (fed by the influence and dynamism of the New York Jazz scene).
Fabien Iannone is a Swiss bass player who also plays synthesizers and percussion. His avid interest is in ancient rhythms and traditions of ritual, early electronic music and musique concrète. He was featured on bass on Pauline Ganty’s 2017 vocal album Après and travelled with pianist Nduduzo Makhathini’s Inner Dimensions tours in South Africa.
Phelan Burgoyne plays drums, guitar and percussion and is a composer, currently based between Basel, Switzerland and London, UK. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, with drummers Martin France and Jeff Williams and at the Hochschule für Musik, Basel, Switzerland. He has gained an international reputation touring across the UK and Europe and has released four albums, each to critical acclaim; Unquiet Quiet (2015) and Verdasio (2019) with his trio featuring saxophonist Martin Speake. Divertimento followed in 2018, in duo with ECM artist-pianist Emanuele Maniscalco, then Introducing REBOP in 2018 a quintet featuring legend Jorge Rossy on vibraphone.
His current project Slaughden features ECM artists Kit Downes and Fred Thomas. Jazz apart, Burgoyne plays the Rubāb; a traditional lute from Central Afghanistan. Burgoyne also works as a photographer in social documentary and portraiture.
The music is eclectic, ingenious and sincere and the trio’s performances are balletic, as they move between dialogue, inquisitiveness and revelation. Their tempo is flexible and warm and their inventiveness demonstrates the level of interaction between them.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
