PRESS
« With his music, Mr. Giaume seems intent on loosening the grip of the nostalgia that often threatens to bury classical music and jazz, and to reveal an essential soulfulness that transcends categories. »
“Inspired by Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s wanderings in New Orleans, trumpeter Yohan Giaume imagines a brassy dialogue with his American elder.” * * *
“The French composer’s encounter with nineteenth century American Gottschalk led to this boldly imaginative creation of centuries apart symmetry […] that demonstrates the timeless and generational connectivity at the core of this project”.* * * *
“Similar to a migrant all in his discovery, the French trumpeter does not desacralize anything and combines with refinement the strings of classical inspiration to a jazz drawn from a thousand traditions, European, African and Caribbean. Something like a dreamy New Orleans beats here: yesterday’s now become today. » fff
« Whisper of a Shadow », a musical novel whose secrets Yohan Giaume has not finished revealing (…) A sequel will emerge. The globe-trotting musicologist fully intends to continue his investigations and deliver his interpretation. This promises to be exciting.«
« It’s a record imagined as a blockbuster; a biopic, with its paintings, its scenes, its moments. Giaume knows how to bring a story to life and trigger curiosity with strong images. A French musician who will have to be followed closely.«
“Giaume has taken on a major undertaking for his first recording as a leader. The results are exquisite and deeply moving. […] this could be a film soundtrack of Academy Award consideration. The blend of classical strings, ethereal clarinet, and swinging brass on Yohan’s brilliant compositions and arrangements, is both intoxicating, as well as dancing feet ecstatic. I can hardly wait to experience Giaume’s new projects. This one is very special…” **** 1/2
“Fruitful dialogue, illustrated by a musical tribute to New Orleans and, more broadly, to African-American music.”
“Leading a string quartet and jazz quintet, Yohan Giaume converses freely with the visionary globetrotter to build a new bridge between African-American culture and European romantic music. New Orleans has never lived up to its name. »
“The richly orchestrated musical walk is almost cinematographic.”
« An intense record, where refinement, sophistication, poetry, relevance of the subject, various aesthetics (swing, blues, jazz, New Orleans fanfare …) mingle, we will understand and virtuosity. A wonder ! »
« Flirting with this multitude of musical influences which constitute and punctuate the work of Moreau Gottschalk, Yohan imagines a touching conversation that he could have had with the virtuoso musician An exchange of impressive richness in which he invites the listener to rediscover the roots of New Orleans culture Whisper Of A Shadow’s Opus 1 explores and challenges conventions and traditions. To discover urgently! »
Les Chroniques de Hiko
« Gorgeous ! »
« Sumptuous »
“A very nice trip to put in all hands, and especially musical ears!”
« Sounding very much like it should be a soundtrack for a director that tends to make sweeping opuses […] With a cast of pros on board, there’s something wildly different going on here but it’s done within the framework of something feeling familiar. An impressionistic work at it’s core, if you ever wanted to live in a painting, this is a work you must check out. »
« Yohan with this musical collaborators capture the musical spirit of New Orleans in this deep, wide-ranging, and historically engaged opus, the first of a series of recordings Giaume envisions. »
« We hear, expressed in contemporary contemporary language, a very rich musical gumbo where the European tradition of the 19th century interferes with the Afro-Creole rhythms and melodies of the Cité du Croissant. »
“Constantly oscillating between gravity and joy, solemnity and lightness, the eleven successive compositions offer a magnificent sonic palette with astonishing musicality […] A jewel of both literary and sonorous emotion, which touches us deeply and haunts us sustainably.”
“Yohan Giaume’s New LP Is One Of 2021’s Most Unique Albums So Far. The 11-song presentation is largely unlike anything else out there today anywhere in the music industry. This record is without question a work that every music lover should hear.”