French saxophonist and composer Xavier Richardeau is a fascinating and resourceful musician.
Accustomed to the offbeat of Parisian avenues with their lingering multicultural melodies – from the Left Bank of the River Seine all the way to Chateau Rouge on the eastern slopes of Montmartre in the 18th Arrondissement – Richardeau is all too familiar with varied grooves and meters.
He is now based in Gosier in the French West Indian island of Guadeloupe.
His most recent recording, ‘A Caribbean Thing’, documents his improvisational adventures in a variety of Afro-Caribbean musical idioms.
Quebecois tenor saxophonist Jocelyn Menard, acts as the tenor saxophone foil to Richardeau’s honeyed voice on the soprano horn, providing captivating support on the unison melody lines on all compositions. The drum and bass pairing of Yoann De Danier and Régis Thérèse, respectively, is an inspired musical choice. Pianist Leonardo Montana’s charming comping and Anthony Jambon’s prowess on electric guitar help to round out an album that is pleasing to the ear – and most of all makes you want to move your feet and hips.
What comes across most compellingly to anyone listening to the album is the seamless manner in which Richardeau’s ensemble moves between the biguine, reggae, mazurka, calypso, montuno, and samba sub-genres.
The sunny alternating montuno and reggae passages in the band’s interpretation of ‘Sous le ciel de Paris’ (popularised by Juliette Greco and Edith Piaf), the Brazil-inspired vibe of ‘Broussa Samba’, and Yoann’s impressive brush work and drum solo on ‘Waves and Wind’ stand out among the album’s strong compositions.
Xavier Richardeau began formal clarinet studies at the age of eight at the Rochefort Conservatoire (Charente-Maritime). He later played bass guitar in a dance orchestra before studying the saxophone with Didier Levallet from 1983. In the late 1980s he focused his attention on the baritone saxophone and has been clearly influenced by Gerry Mulligan and Serge Chaloff in his phrasing and repertoire.
Indeed, between 1990 and 1995 he performed songs from the Mulligan songbook with the Xavier Richardeau Cool Jazz Quartet, echoing the smart American West Coast sound of his musical hero. He has had a history of extensive work with the likes of Dee Dee Bridgewater, René Urtreger, David Sanborn, Stéphane Belmondo, Charlie Watts, Tony Chasseur, Anita O’Day and Veronique Hermann Sambin, among others. Notable albums include ‘Back to the Present’, ‘Boo Boo’s Birthday – Xavier Richardeau Plays Monk’ and ‘Aube Brune’.
