Cello Project

William Brunard's new album, a mix of "return to his roots" and homage to his peers, features the swing cello! Some of the most famous double bassists in the history of jazz (Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, etc.) were, at various points in their careers, cello enthusiasts. Like his illustrious predecessor Ron Carter, William Brunard himself began playing this instrument, studying at the Conservatoire before becoming known as a double bassist. The artist therefore invites us to a kind of "return to his roots" with this Cello Project. While many of his colleagues today readily cultivate the instrument's "chamber" side, William was keen to situate his project within a "swing" context. While sharing solos with six-string expert Fanou Torracinta, he has summoned a suitable rhythm section to achieve this: guitar (Benji Winterstein, sometimes assisted by his father Popots), double bass (Alex Gilson), supported on half of the tracks by Jonathan Gomis' drums. Marked by the influence of Django Reinhardt (Blue Lou, Blues for Ike, Cauchemar...), the aesthetic palette here evolves "between swing and bop", as evidenced by the quotes from Donna Lee in Indiana or the cello chorus on Will Swing, a demarcation of Cherokee. However, William doesn't hesitate to draw on other sources, not without success: Billy Strayhorn (Lotus Blossom), Nat King Cole (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)... With El Capuz de la Noche, which irresistibly evokes the minor themes of the gypsy tradition, William pays doubly homage to his great-grandfather Lucien Cardinale, trombonist, pianist, and conductor?who dreamed of becoming a cellist?by covering one of his melodies and fulfilling his grandfather's dream. For those in the know, William tunes his instrument in fourths, like the double bass, like Oscar Pettiford, master of pizzicati solos, to whom he gives a pointed nod in "We Never See Each Other," performed with only the double bass and drums. This doesn't stop him, at the end of the journey, from giving a swinging version of Saint-Saens's The Swan, an anthology piece traditionally devoted to the cello. "Cello" to the end!