New’Garo, the tribute to Claude Nougaro by ten singers and the Fred Pallem orchestra, on the bill for three festivals, including Jazz à Vienne this Sunday

The show, created during the Jazz sous les pommiers festival last May, is presented Sunday evening at Jazz à Vienne, then at Suds in Arles and at Jazz in Marciac. With some performances not to be missed like those of the singers André Minvielle, Thomas de Pourquery and Marion Rampal, some of the quiet forces of the project.

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the death of Claude Nougaro, among the tributes paid this year to the unforgettable Toulouse poet, the Jazz à Vienne festival has produced an ambitious project, New’Garo, designed by Guillaume Anger, artistic director of Jazz à Vienne, and Marc Maret, curator and publisher at Wise Music Group. Both invited a dozen singers and instrumentalists (Sanseverino, Babx, Jowee Omicil, Ray Lema, Souad Massi…) to perform Claude Nougaro songs with the participation of actor Jacques Gamblin, a jazz enthusiast, as narrator. They entrusted the strictly orchestral part and the arrangements to Fred Pallem, the excellent founder and director of the Sacre du Tympan, who formed a big band specially dedicated to this adventure.

New’Garo, initiated by Jazz à Vienne, in Isère, is presented this Sunday evening, July 7, at the Théâtre Antique. Gabi Hartmann, who is one of the guest singers on the project, also provides the second part of the Vienne concert. This musical tribute will continue its journey on July 12 at the Les Suds festival, in Arles, then on July 27 at Jazz in Marciac. These two festivals are co-producers of the event, as is Jazz sous les pommiers, in Coutances, which hosted its creation on May 10, Salle Marcel-Hélie.

The premiere of New’Garo in Coutances was one of the most anticipated events of the 2024 edition of Jazz sous les pommiers. It offered beautiful moments, carried by the brilliant orchestra of Fred Pallem (himself on bass). André Minvielle imperial on Cat, Thomas de Pourquery, singer and saxophonist, lives in Helen Island, Marion Rampal impeccable on The movie theater… Gabi Hartmann, in her element on the Brazilian repertoire, offered a You will see delicate, imbued with the spirit of Chico Buarque, creator of the song Where Will It Be? that Nougaro adapted in 1978; the orchestra played, for its part, at the opening of the piece, a splendid instrumental quotation of the version that Buarque sang in duet with Milton Nascimento in the 70s. Another nod to the Brazil so loved by Claude Nougaro, Shanty town, the adaptation of Berimbau, Baden Powell theme…

The May 10 creation nevertheless left a mixed memory among some spectators and observers. New’Garo was perhaps a little too ambitious, with many singers from too many different backgrounds to unite and supervise… For its premiere, the project suffered from a clear lack of ensemble rehearsals, as well as a lack of preparation on the part of some guests on the vocal side, with small hiccups, problems with pitch and unmastered lyrics. All this accentuated the impression of a lack of coherence of the whole. You don’t need to be very numerous on stage to construct a tribute full of strength and poetry to a master of song. Minvielle, Pourquery and Babx demonstrated this brilliantly a few years ago in a wonderful trio show, performed on stage and then finally immortalized on record.

Since May 10, the repertoire has been partly modified, as well as the casting of the singers (Mélissa Laveaux has left, Siân Pottok has arrived). Above all, the protagonists have found – finally – time to rehearse together, in order to consolidate this program. Nougarophiles will be able to appreciate the result of this maturation in Vienna, Arles and Marciac this July.

(Not complete) capture of the creation of New’Garo at Jazz under the apple trees, May 10, 2024 (Arte Concerts video)