Sélène Saint-Aimé, Steve Coleman and Rubalcaba/Pédron Help Ferment The Apples Of Normandy

Jazz Sous Les Pommiers (Jazz Under The Apple Trees) takes over the small Normandy town of Coutances in a way that’s reminiscent of Brecon Jazz in its heyday. It’s both extended and expansive, a full eight days crammed with gigs in theatre, cinema, chapel, cathedral, spiegeltent and sports-hall locations. There’s nary an apple tree in sight, said pommes appearing liberally in festival cidre guise, a brew specially bottled for the occasion. There are almost as many as 50% of the acts who infuse a strong amount of global tradition, including headliners Robert Cray, Femi Kuti and the Ukrainian quartet Dakhabrakha. Many of the French jazz bands embrace elements from Asian, African or Latin traditions, as well as flamenco and ancient choral singing. Pommiers is surprisingly crowded for a small town, and almost every gig seems to be sold out. This 42nd edition makes it yet another veteran European festival.

Steve Coleman – Photo by Remy Briand

One of the major sets (sold out, of course) was provided by Steve Coleman & Five Elements, incarnated as a tight outfit of trumpet (Jonathan Finlayson), electric bass (Rich Brown) and drums (Sean Rickman). Their music became more introverted and convoluted without the presence of rapper Kokayi, whose high velocity lines have lately been firing this combo up into a frenzy. Brown’s bass sometimes acts like a sousaphone, made up of sheer low end waddle, while Finlayson and altoman Coleman engage in snakehip themes, firing off in fast flow. These supple communal structures are continually evolving, growing more intricate, like a futuristic New Orleans music. Coleman is in soloing mood, taking off on his own with greater frequency. The compositions become exciting, then recede for contemplation. A wave of solo statements passes through the ranks, from left to right, and Coleman actually sings ‘When The Saints’ between his introductions. This was the last date in a long month of touring.

In the same theatre, the previous evening, singer-bassist Sélène Saint-Aimé expressed aspects of the ritual music of Martinique, joined by trumpet, tenor saxophone, and a pair of percussionists. Her mannered formal voice might not suit everyone, but the band’s refined understatement creates a unique atmosphere of calm spiritual introversion. She almost sounds like Elizabeth Cotten, the old folk-blues singer, as if she hasn’t heard any vocalists from later than the 1940s. Saint-Aimé’s band had an appealing beatnik campfire character, intimately gathered and always leaving ample space, at one point dropping the percussion for an exquisite horns-and-bass section.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Pierrick Pédron, Photo by Francis Bellamy

In the same theatre, the following performance was a surprisingly confrontational, almost free-form meeting between the Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and French alto saxophonist Pierrick Pédron. They sustained close interest for 90 minutes, running from thunderous eruptions to sparse faintness. There must have been some bad bugs lurking amongst the apples, as this set ‘boasted’ some of the most extreme and continual coughing fits heard all year. So extreme that it was sadly comedic. Usefully, the second number got harder and faster, with a staccato foundation, Rubalcaba’s piano running from thunderstorms to dainty flecking. The pair entwined madly during ‘Five Will Get You Ten’, after Jackie McLean, new discovery (for this scribe) Pédron passing into a tranced state of fleet abrasiveness.

Early the next afternoon, violinist Dominique Pifarély and Italian contrabassist Federica Michisanti played at the Chapelle, demonstrating a delicate duality with their bittersweet commingling. Their tones were classically orientated rather than jazzed, although around 20 minutes in, the bass started walking. This was Pifarély’s excuse to fly freely, as Michisanti took us into deep drone territory. The violinist mingled gypsy folk with a Béla Bartók sensibility, but we all still remember him for his pivotal work with Louis Sclavis.

In the large sports-hall, tenorman Sylvain Rifflet paid homage to Stan Getz, with a large ensemble, appearing in a surprisingly mild-mannered state. Rifflet always seems to be hurtling towards his next conceptual presentation, his next facilitating ensemble. Often, he’s more racily moderne than revealed in this Getz programme. The weight is tilted towards Brazil, and Rifflet even leaves the stage for a long while, as singer Célia Kaméni glides through ‘Menina Flor’. The large group is very sensitive, and the arrangements are tasteful, as Abbey Lincoln’s ‘Throw It Away’ coasts onwards. Then, Rifflet returned to deliver a steady flow of his own solos.

In the Magic Mirrors spiegeltent, early the next afternoon, Grégoire Maret (harmonica) and Edmar Castaneda (harp) met for a dynamic set of these contrastingly-sized axes. The mouth harp and the hand harp have differing airplane existences, as Maret can just drop his two harmonicas in his pocket. The Ecuadorian Castaneda retains the stylistic sound of his homeland, keeping bass figures aloft while he’s skimming along the trebly strings. He uses his entire body in a very physical approach to the harp. He’s more nimble than Maret, who often seems to play the melody lines rather than embellishing flamboyantly. Castaneda sounds like the chief soloist most of the time, also using his array of subtly employed effects pedals. Their encore of Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango’ was a highlight, as the pair shared its thematic lines.

In the main cathedral, trumpeter Erik Truffaz played with Choeur Emelthée, from Lyon, an Indian-style drone backing his opening solo, as the singers trailed in from the front doors. Truffaz walked to meet them halfway, then turned, fishing them in towards the stage. Truffaz also added organ-keys to this mix of Pérotin and Pärt.

Soon after, bassman Marcus Miller couldn’t have been more different, as he filled the sports-hall with jazz funk, Donald Hayes playing what could only be called piglet alto, cutting to Russell Gunn’s trumpet solo. Miller maintained a limber vamp, soloing himself, then pointing to whoever he wanted to have the spotlight next. Gunn took a muted solo on ‘Untamed’, with Miller providing a Bootsy Collins flavoured effects-bass solo.

Meanwhile, Robert Cray was exceptional, at his best and ageing well, and Girls In Airports were way better than expected, if a person is only familiar with their recorded works. Such is the diverse Pommiers nature!

Look out for more Pommiers in the July print edition of Jazzwise, featuring a different selection of artists…