CONCERT NEW ALBUM
PAUL LAY OR THE ART OF INVENTING SOUNDSCAPES

OPENING ACT: CHARLOTTE PLANCHOU “LE CARILLON »

It’s been over fifteen years since the Festival fell under the spell of virtuoso pianist Paul Lay, with his profound playing and singular sensibility. His career has been honored with countless prestigious awards.
It was by recounting the epic of Ulysses to his son that the pianist and composer chose to transpose this vast Homeric poem across seas and foreign worlds into music.
With this original program for jazz trio, for which he signs each piece, Paul Lay also confirms his vocation as a composer, inventing unprecedented colors and soundscapes. Released at the end of 2024, L’Odyssée was enthusiastically received by critics, including a CHOC from Jazz Magazine.

Alongside a tight rhythm section – double bassist Samuel F’Hima and drummer Donald Kontomanou – where inventiveness and finesse are the watchwords, Paul Lay invites us to plunge into his imagination and hear his inner songs.

Happy are those who, like Ulysses, will experience this enchanting musical odyssey in the perfect setting of the Théâtre de l’Alliance Française.

Paul Lay: piano / Samuel F’Hima: double bass / Donald Kontomanou: drums

Album “L’Odyssée de Paul Lay”, released in October 2024 by Gazebo

Press reviews:
Unique in many ways, this album of original compositions sweeps us away with its depth, richness and joyful gravity. France Musique
You’re bound to leave happy and enriched after listening to such an intimate epic, inspired and mastered from start to finish. Jazz Magazine
An incredible grace, a fascinating record. Télérama
Paul Lay is a piano Marvel. A superhero of the 88 keys, bending them under his fingers to his will. Laurent de Wilde
A pianist and magician you absolutely must follow. France Inter
With all the lyricism we know, Paul Lay fuses genres to reinvent the boundaries of his soundscapes. FIP
An absolutely magnificent trio album. TSF Jazz