Joëlle Léandre and William Parker “Live at Dunois”

Joëlle Léandre and William Parker: Live at DunoisFrench double bassist Joëlle Léandre has carved a name for herself as one of the best improvisational bassists out there. Her latest release, Joelle Léandre and William Parker Live at Dunois, is a live recording with bassist William Parker where they show off their improvisational chops with a variety of bass techniques and disciplined skill.

Léandre and Parker last collaborative album was Contrbasses, released eleven years ago. The album features six untitled tracks moving you through the conversation between Léandre and Parker.

Léandre has over one hundred recordings to her credit, and has worked with jazz players such as Derek Beley, Anthony Braxton, Georges Lewis, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Steve Lacy, Fred Frith and John Zorn. She has also described herself to All About Jazz as “an angry player,” continuing with “I have this utopia vision. I want art to change the world. It’s impossible just to be a musician and say “oh, life is nice.” Life is not nice. Life is hard and to play the bass is hard… But I love my instrument.”

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