PRESS
“The fullness of his sound gives his instruments - oboe and English horn - a place in jazz that double reeds rarely achieve.”
- Franck Bergerot, Jazz Magazine -
"The seduction and originality of Fillon's music obviously owe much to the instrument he uses, the English horn, tenor oboe in F. With audacity and virtuosity, Jean-Luc gives us new ways to love it."
- Claude Carrière, France Musiques -
“Jean-Luc Fillon has certainly imposed instruments rarely used in jazz; above all, he has created an unprecedented orchestral color, all sensuality and pulsation.”
- Stéphane Carini, JAZZMAN -
"Jean Luc Fillon shows that he knows how to take hold of a musical form as a stylish visual artist, how to use paraphrase and variation, how to draw inspiration from it while diverting it in a relevant way, how to revive tradition in a clever way without making us forget the original for a single moment"
- Sophie Chambon, JazzBreak -
“In such a context, the mobility of the oboist's playing (from the freshest ductility to the strangest sonorities that a sopranist would allow himself), the range of colors and nuances he deploys, the clarity of his ideas are all the more imposing as they are supported by an accompaniment that is both attentive and delicate.”
- Stéphane Carini, JAZZMAN -
"Don't listen to J-Luc Fillon thinking he's playing an instrument rarely used in jazz. His talent as a composer and improviser quickly makes you forget the instrument. From the very first track, it's clear that J-L F. knows what he's talking about, and that he's mastered all the essential aspects of jazz music, not to mention his above-average instrumental technique."
- Martial Solal -
"As soon as we hear him, Fillon infects us (...) he's the only one of his kind. In France, of course. But also on the international stage. The only one that counts. If I had to mention other names, I'd probably remember Yussef Lateef, (...), Bob Cooper, ...Med Flory, maybe...But after that, nobody. Nobody except J-Luc Fillon. He persists in standing resolutely on the upper floor. Where there are fewer people (...). And above all, he composes. Only first choice. It's all him. I've known J-Luc Fillon for over fifteen years. So when I think about it, my arms fall off (...) The main thing is that he has never stopped moving forward and surprising us."
- Jean-Louis Chautemps -
"And the places follow one another, traversed with a touch of nostalgia: all with eloquent vivacity, twirling virtuosity, confounding expressiveness and nuance. In short, beautiful, lively music."
- Xavier Prévost, Les dernières nouvelles du Jazz -
Jumpin' with Art
Oboman - Eymard - Hutman - Rousselet - Januska
"This is, as far as I'm concerned, the second time I've had the opportunity to talk to you about Oboman's music. And it's a pleasure to talk to you again, because this opus is really excellent. It's aptly titled Jumpin' with art (but Art is spelled with a capital A, and I'll explain why later). On this, his 17th album as leader, Jean-Luc ‘Oboman’ Fillon plays oboe and English horn, and is accompanied by a quartet of talented musicians: Bruno Rousselet on double bass, Olivier Hutman on piano and Fender Rhodes, Karl Jannuska on drums and Frédéric Eymard on alto violin.
COUP DE COEUR PARIS MOVE
"Boxes, chapels, blinkers, very little for him! After all, why confine instruments to a specific universe? Why should the oboe and English horn be uniquely associated with classical music? Music for which our guest has an undying love. He was even a member of the European Symphony Orchestra for four years. But he was also struck by jazz. He'll never forget, for example, the Art Blakey concert he saw in Mantes-la-Jolie in the early 80's. But instead of questioning everything, instead of putting his instruments away in their cases, instead of choosing: he listened to his deepest desire... He heard the call: the oboe, the English horn, IT'S JAZZ!
And these are instruments made for breaking new ground, for improvisation. He's been proving this with wit, freshness and inventiveness for thirty years now. It's a pleasure to end the week in the company of Jean-Luc Fillon...or should I say Oboman, since the nickname was given to you by trombonist Glenn Ferris and you've officially adopted it! I was talking about Blakey a few seconds ago...His new album, “Jumpin With Art”, is precisely a tribute to the drummer, hard-bop, the Jazz Messengers, Bobby Timmons, Cedar Walton, Freddie Hubbard...
- Jean-Charles Doukhan - TSF Jazz -
"JazzBluesNews.com: - Let's start with where you grew up and what got you interested in music. How did the adventure begin? When did you realize it was a passion you could make a living from?

 When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living from?
Jean-Luc “Oboman” Fillon: - I grew up in western Paris, in a modest family; my father played the tuba in a local wind band. Initially, I wanted to take up the saxophone! But there weren't any places left, so I was directed towards the oboe, which I continued because the teacher was so nice. Then, when I was about 15, my friends who had a place on the saxophone asked me to play with them, but not on the oboe! They invited me because they knew my father had a tuba? So, over the Christmas vacations, I learned to play the tuba, which I quickly mastered. Then, finally, I took up the electric bass on the advice of the big band guitarist. It was then that I discovered Pastorius, Stanley Clarke... and a whole new world of music. I then embarked on two parallel careers: solo oboe with the European Symphony Orchestra and bassist, then double bassist, in a number of jazz and fusion projects. It wasn't until I was 33 (the age of revelation for me) that I decided to practice the music I love most - jazz - with the sound I prefer - the oboe.
JBN: - How has your sound evolved over time? What have you done to find and develop your own sound?
Read the rest of the interview on the Jazz Blues website
LISTEN AGAIN :
This opus features 11 interpretations of compositions by other famous artists, all composers of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter, for example, wrote 7 tracks, pianist Cedar Walton 2, vibraphonist Bobby Timmons one and trumpeter Freddie Hubard one. Hence the title of the opus, Jumpin' With Art, and it was the musicians of this quintet who arranged the music of the Jazz Messengers composers. The choice of musicians is not accidental, as they are all musicians with whom Jean-Luc ‘Oboman’ Fillon had previously worked. A little jazzy musical glimpse over the shoulder, which does a world of good in these grey times (and not just because winter is approaching). Over 50 luminous minutes that take many of us back to the year we were born... and for that alone, this opus deserves a big “coup de coeur”.
- Dominique Boulay, Paris-Move -
4 ****
OBOMAN – Jumpin’with Art - 1 CD Cristal Records / Believe
Magazine on newsstands October 27, 2022
Paris by Song
Oboman - Ithursarry
"Jean-Luc Fillon is such a good oboe player that he's nicknamed Oboman! In his latest album, Paris By Song, recorded as a duet with accordionist Didier Ithursarry, he gets the instrument swinging to the rhythm of the Parisian pavement, taking his wounded swan song from Belleville to the Moulin Rouge, from Père Lachaise to the Pont des Arts. Far from the expected postcard, this music is striking for its very personal poetry".
- Louis Julien Nicolaou, Télérama -
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"... the step just a little hurried by the energy of Didier Ithursarry's bellows and Oboman's reeds. The alliance of a suburbanite and a Basque, nothing could be more coherent than to give thanks to a world-city that is convinced that it still sounds like a village... The bravura claudication of the accordion bass, accompanied by the elegant entrechats of the aristo oboe on the dreamy ‘Montmartre’, bears witness to this.... Every station, every diversions is an opportunity to tell a story, to describe an atmosphere, to look at Paris with an outside eye. The song is a quick pencil sketch, barely five minutes long, that leaves a lot to the imagination. ‘Moulin Rouge’, with its field-recorded footsteps pacing the pavement, is a case in point: suggested images, exacerbated colours... The meeting between Ithursarry and Oboman goes back a long way, to Oboréades, which was more of a confrontation. Here, the instrumentalists make common cause. Paris by Song is a cosmopolitan affair: ‘Casa Pepe’, a tribute to Paco de Lucia, reminds us that Oboman loves the East just as much as Brazil and everything that offers tropical latitudes. Paris by Song is a luminous chimera that begins at ‘République’ and ends at ‘Bastille’, like all messages of hope. It takes you from track to track with a smile on your face. A magnificent promenade.
- Franpi Barriaux, Citizen Jazz -
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"Jean-Luc Fillon (whose surname has nothing to do with the famous entanglement) is a boy with a lot of nerve. And daring! Not only has he brilliantly proved over the last few years that the oboe (or English horn if you prefer) is not just an instrument for baroque players, but that it can create new sounds in jazz (cf. his sublime work on Duke Ellington), not only is he a daring man, Jean-Luc Fillon is also a daredevil. For it takes a small dose of madness to dare to embark on such a demanding oboe/accordion duet.
And it has to be said that you can't fail to be impressed by the musical quality of what these two have to offer. They play at a high, very high level. To a large extent, the performance is the result of the appropriation of magnificent writing by the accordionist, by Fillon himself, but also by Claude Barthélemy, Marcel Azzola, Hermeto Pascoal and Peggy Stern. Jean-Luc Fillon takes this material and turns it into happy, whirling music, with a light dress and a smile on his face. The two men listen to each other, hear each other and understand each other admirably. The energy dominates the exchanges and the colour of the sound, the harmonic paste derived from the marriage of oboe and accordion is utterly convincing.
However, the exercise imposes a somewhat one-sided sharing of tasks. Jean-Luc Fillon, a gourmet epicurean of music, throws himself wholeheartedly into the very tight, dense arrangements, where the division of roles, somewhat constrained by the range of the instruments (it is difficult for the oboe to play the bass lines), is a little one-sided, entrusting the sinuosities of the oboe with the melodic lines and the (exceptional) improvisations, and the accordion with the warmth of the harmonies and the rhythmic punctuation.
But the music is beautiful. It's music that dances. Music filled with humanity and brotherhood. The result of this duet, where listening and sharing dominate, is beautiful. Just beautiful. And to be savoured without moderation.
Jean-Marc Gelin - Les Dernières Nouvelles du Jazz
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‘It was the third and final day of the ’Bouteille en bretelles" festival in Bourg Saint Andéol. Late morning. An absolutely pure sky. A church with bare walls. I've already mentioned the high standard of this festival, but for us, the duo of Jean-Luc Fillon and Didier Ithursarry was the highlight. Their name was “Duo Illico”. After the concert, they told us of their plans to release an album in 2012. And it's done. And the title? "Oboreades'.
We received the album on Saturday; we've listened to it several times and it's a real joy. Several tracks (3/13) are by Didier Ithursarry, others by J.-L. FIllon (5/13), others by Maurizio Giammarco, Claude Barthélémy, Marcel Azzola, Hermeto Pascoal and Peggy Stern. But, in fact, whatever the piece, my overriding impression was the same, over and above the differences specific to each composition: a clear line drawn by Jean-Luc Fillon and the accordion adding perspective. Precision beyond imagination. Unimaginable mastery. I didn't say virtuosity, a term that for me always connotes vain skill, devoid of meaning; I did say mastery, in the sense that it allows them every audacity.
It's obviously a great record. Some people ask whether it's jazz or something else. I'd say it's music that transcends categories and classifications. In that sense, it's also jazz, but not just jazz.
- Michel Rebinguet, l'autre bistrot des accordéons -
"With his alliance of oboe and “wind piano”, Jean Luc “Oboman” Fillon continues to play - and his career proves it - with the originality of this instrument, outside the classical context, favouring musical particularities, always in search of a personal sound and phrasing. A daring musician, he dares to make his way into the heart of all that is possible, attracted by adventure. And each album is further proof of this, with more encounters, more trials, more research. For the elegance of the playing, the balance of the voices, the colour and subtlety of the double reed. This time Oboréades brings together Jean Luc Fillon and accordionist Didier Ithursarry. Oboréades, in mythology, is the son of Borée (the north wind) and Erythie, who blows from the south, and he can transform himself at will from a simple fresh breeze into a tornado.
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In this album, the combination of two original timbres that are particularly unusual in jazz will come as no surprise, but this is not world music, with exotic effects. There's nothing remarkable about cultivating originality on its own, and many classical and contemporary musicians have tried to break out of their drastically delimited territories, but when this search is carried out in an appropriate and unusual context, after genuine musical reflection, we reach the exceptional, and the breathtaking result confirms an extraordinary musical intelligence. The two of them have a serious groove going, integrating multiple influences into a subtle harmonic interweaving.
The first track, “Les lavandières”, proves the point: the album kicks off with a formidable accordion/woodwind unison, a feat of technical prowess. In “Sconclusione”, with its darker, mellower English horn, Jean Luc Fillon throws himself into the counterpoint with the support of the accordionist, who comments and spices up their dialogue. Chat pacha‘, with its rapid tempo and alliteration, swirls around before ’Frecciarossa" subtly awakens a few hints of Neapolitan songs. On the lively “Double Scotch”, a composition by Hermeto Pascoale, the oboe takes on a refined, brilliantly embroidered rise.
And as for the treatment of the hit ‘Bebe’ by the incredible Hermeto Pascoal, with his ‘hairy, bearded albino look’, the oboist manages to play, as fast and nimble as ever, to different rhythms. So this stroll he offers us is full of the unexpected. You never know where these two are going to take you, but you'll happily go along for the ride. When the talent is there..."
- Sophie Chambon, Les Dernières Nouvelles du Jazz -
"Releasing a CD of over 60 minutes and 13 tracks with the unusual combination of an oboe (or English horn) and an accordion is a sufficiently crazy gamble to arouse our curiosity. The marriage of the timbres of these instruments, united by vibration, breath and air, works wonders, especially when it is carried off by instrumentalists as exceptional as Fillon and Ithursarry. Two musicians who know each other well and know how to create a remarkable dialogue driven by a bubbling alchemy. The music is sufficiently rich and dense that the absence of a rhythm section does not make itself felt - it sometimes offers intoxicating, spirited unisons that fill the sound space (Le Chat Pacha) but also knows how to use silence and punctuation (Sconclusione).
The choice of repertoire allows for a variety of atmospheres, with a balance of their own compositions and covers, all of them relevant, such as Claude Barthélemy's lively Bornéo waltz, Marcel Azola's famous Double Scotch and Hermeto Pascoal's Bebê, and Peggy Stern's little-known and subtle The Aerie. The continuous and varied breath of “Oboréades” is bound to bring warmth, seduction and astonishment to ears numbed by the approach of winter.
- Lionel Eskenazi, Jazzman -
"Jean-Luc Fillon has given jazz oboe its letters of nobility in France. In a way, he's our Yusef Lateef. His sense of improvisation, balanced phrasing and unlimited possibilities guarantee top-quality performances. Everyone wants to work with him. He himself is the successor to a host of groups. As a result, he can be found in a multitude of configurations. Take the Echoes of Freedom project with Mark Feldman, François Mechali and Ramon Lopez at the Auditorium St-Germain, for example! Pure joy. In the meantime, check out his latest duo album with accordionist Didier Ithursarry. It's a treasure chest of wonders".
- Bruno Pfeiffer, Ça va jazzer -
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"How do you celebrate Paris in music? This is the question that the oboist and accordionist answer in a duet that is as unexpected as it is sensitive.
From the République to the Bastille, via the Pont des Arts, the Moulin-Rouge and the Grand Palais, the new ‘Paris By Song’ project invites you to take a stroll around Paris, led by oboist Oboman (aka Jean-Luc Fillon) and accordionist Didier Ithursarry. It's a stroll that naturally brings to mind all the music that has nourished the heart of the capital for over a century, more in the form of reminiscences than actual quotations. Between salon music and popular music, the association of two instruments as “typical” as the oboe and the accordion brings together universes that might be thought incompatible, playing on each person's own memories.
Poetry of Paris
The album cites Baudelaire and The Spleen of Paris, as a tutelary figure, and the fascination, sometimes mingled with repulsion, that this ‘infamous capital’ could inspire in the poet. In the 21st century, Paris has changed a great deal, and its underworld no longer frightens the bourgeois as it once did. The music of the cabarets and the bals musette is now a popular heritage that musicians like to reenchant (Jo Privat in the spotlight with his Rêve bohémien) or reinvent in their own compositions. Oboman and Ithursarry have developed a repertoire that explores the capital's neighbourhoods, from north to south and from west to east, basing their compositions on the unusual combination of timbres of their instruments. This light-hearted, mostly playful peregrination is not without its eminently Parisian charm.
- Vincent Bessières, La Terrasse -
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‘Jean-Luc Fillon, oboist by profession, nicknamed ’Oboman" in the text, and Didier Ithursarry, accordionist, pay tribute to the city of Paris, which, whether or not it is worth a mass, is absolutely worth this magnificent album. Five years after “Oboréades”, OBOMAN & ITHURSARRY have decided to continue their singular duo with this beautiful tribute to the city of light, Paris. It's a tribute that's both playful and profound, guiding you through the capital's different districts and immersing you in its great cultural and artistic diversity. Just as Paris is different from one arrondissement to the next, each track is different from the next, with rhythms ranging from swing and jazz to java and musette. The 11 tracks on this opus take you on 11 ballads through the very different districts and villages that make up Paris... from République to Bastille, via Père Lachaise, the Pont des Arts, the Palais Royal and Bastille. ‘Paris by SOng’ is a musical journey punctuated by the sounds of the city, with some tracks without any indication of place in their title evoking a precise location, such as ‘Casa Pepe’, a Spanish restaurant on rue Mouffetard that was Paco de Lucia's favourite stop-off in Paris... The order of the tracks composed by Jean-Luc Fillon, with the exception of a Jo Privat cover, “Rêve bohémien”, and a “Moulin Rouge” written by Didier Ithursarry, is certainly not the most practical route between the point of departure (of the album) and the point of arrival, but this wandering around the capital reflects the freedom of tone adopted by the two artists, who are moreover not at their first “original” creation. "Oboréades' in 2012 was already a perfect illustration of the symbiosis that exists between these two musicians and which makes their music so endearing and captivating, their compositions blending magically with songs from the repertoire of Marcel Azzola, Hermeto Pascoal and Claude Barthelemy. With “Paris by Song”, you're treated to 45 minutes of a perfect musical excursion “within the city”, supported by an undeniable complementarity of instruments!
- Dominique Boulay, Paris Move -
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Jazz do Brasil
Oboman - Tuniko - Miranda
A BELA VIDA - Buda Musique -
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In today's nightmarish Brazil, here's a trip to Amazonia that feels good! An album that simply.... makes you happy and joyful.
It's one of those albums that gives you a boost in the morning, and I personally listen to it over and over again every morning to start my day with a light-hearted insouciance that gives me wings. In these uncertain and anxious times, it doesn't do any harm.
And why is that? Because there's singing and dancing. Because although the music is admirably played, gracefully handling the art of counterpoint, it nevertheless evokes primal pleasures. A bit like those you experience when watching a film by Varda or Rohmer. The pleasure of the gift, received or given.
For many years now, Jean-Luc Fillon, alias Oboman, has made it his duty to take the oboe out of the dusty cupboards of chamber music and into new territory. We remember his forays into Ellingtonian landscapes for a new and totally exciting reading. For several years now, Oboman has been following a different (musical) path, in the company of two top-class musicians with whom he has formed the group Aquarela. Their Brazilian repertoire is far removed from the clichés of samba and bossa, and closer to Choro, the music played in public squares and bars at happy hours. A repertoire that evokes village festivals, spring dances and girls' skirts fluttering in the wind. It's a repertoire that conjures up laughter, headbanging and soft, drinkable spirits. This repertoire is also that of the great Hermeto Pascoal (Frevo em maceio), Guinga (Baiao de Lacan), Gismonti (7 aneis) or Tom Jobim (choro), to name the best known.
While Jean-Luc Fillon twirls like a virtuoso on the instrument to which he gives wings, Edu Miranda, the great Brazilian master of the mandolin, makes the instrument sing, backed up by his long-time companion, the no less immense Tuniko Goulart, who gives his guitar the air of a Brazilian gypsy. As for Zé Luis Nascimento, he's a bit of a heart-throb.
Buoyed by these fresh and sometimes very moving melodies (like Egberto Gismonti's 7 aneis) and a mandolin/guitar duet that inspires everything but melancholy, “Bela vida” will make your life beautiful. And happy. And joyful. And indispensable right now.
- Jean-marc Gelin, Les DNJ -
TOP OF THE WORLD - ★★★★★
Aquarela A Bela Vida - Buda Musique -
Oboman back with another delightful album of choro BUY NOW It’s not often that the oboe takes the lead in any genre and its pinched tone can sometimes be too much of a good thing, but the latest of Jean-Luc ‘Oboman’ Fillon’s explorations of the Brazilian choro tradition is a delight from first note to last. Like its two predecessors, A Bela Vida features Fillon’s virtuoso oboe playing, which is deftly and sympathetically accompanied by Edu Miranda’s ten-string mandolin and Tuniko Goulart’s seven-string acoustic guitar. This time, however, a third Brazilian musician proves a welcome addition; Zé Luis Nascimento’s variegated and understated percussion enhances the subtle instrumental interplay, adding body. Naturally, much of the music on the album is improvised and choro has been labelled as the New Orleans jazz of Brazilian music. The quartet mainly interprets numbers by old masters of the genre like Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim and Ernesto Nazareth, but there’s also room for a little Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal and Egberto Gismonti. All 13 tracks, though, sound bright and contemporary, not at all fixed on retrospection. They interweave sinuously into the seamless equivalent of a dance piece. Each individual musician is at the top of his respective game and together they leave the listener with an upli ing sense of festivity .
- Mark SAMPSON, Songlines -
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A virtuoso escape to Brazilian rhythms
At the head of his Aquarela trio, hauboist and English horn player Jean-Luc “Oboman” Fillon presents
“A Bela Vida”, his third album devoted to Brazilian music. Surrounded by his two Brazilian accomplices, mandolinist Eduardo Miranda and guitarist Tuniko Goulart, the leader invites Brazilian percussionist Zé Luis Nascimento to join them. With virtuosos like these, Brazilian melodies and rhythms simmer with lyricism and elegance. A welcome escape in these troubled times to rediscover the taste of la Bela Vida.
Following on from “Choros do Brazil” and “Outros Choros do Brazil”, Jean-Luc “Oboman” Fillon and his trio Aquarela continue in the Brazilian vein with “A Bela Vida” (Buda Musique/Socadisc). On this third album, dedicated to Brazilian music, the trio he forms with Brazilians Eduardo Miranda (10-string mandolin) and Tuniko Goulart (7-string guitar) is joined by percussionist Zé Luis Nascimento.
The repertoire features a number of famous Brazilian composers, including Pixinguinha, Guinga, Egberto Gismonti, Hermeto Pascoal, Jacob de Bandolim and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
Together, these four artists take flight on the wings of superb melodies. They give it their all and display their virtuosity with elegance. ‘A Bela Vida’ is a nugget of happiness where virtuosity and lyricism flirt with sensitivity and delicacy. A joyful concentrate that delights the heart and soul.
- Nicole Videmann Latins de Jazz... et cie -
CHOROS do BRASIL - Buda Musique -
"Jean Luc Fillon continues to exploit the vein of musical particularities and to poach from the lands of improvisation, this time adapting the very special repertoire of the Brazilian choros, one of the first musical forms to have some parallels with jazz, since it is inspired by an ancient Afro-Brazilian dance, the lundu. At the beginning of the twentieth century, choro found itself in close contact with other neighbouring North American styles, ragtime and Dixieland. This led to the addition of trombones, saxophones and percussion, with choro ensembles being of variable geometry.
At the crossroads of two musical styles - romantic classical music, which he practised at a very high level, and jazz, which seduced him for its freedom and its relationship to rhythm - Jean Luc Fillon is above all interested in the search for a very personal sound and phrasing. He can develop them in the form of the choro, whose basic cell, the “terno”, built around woodwinds and strings, has a two-beat rondo rhythm, marked by syncopations and harmonic modulations.
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The oboe takes the place of the flute, taking on the role of melodic instrument along with the Brazilian mandolin (bandolim), with the guitar playing a harmonic and rhythmic role.
Choros, originally part of the oral tradition, are now at the heart of much better-known popular music such as samba and bossa nova. Dancing is never far away, despite the etymology (‘chorar’ means ‘to weep’): choros are based on a joyful, lively rhythm that has its origins in the waltz, the polka and certain European dances... So crossbreeding is not an overused word.
On this trio album, our Oboman is joined by new Brazilian accomplices: guitarist Tuniko Goulart and mandolinist Edu Miranda. The repertoire on Aquarela, released by Buda Musique, includes compositions by Vinicius de Moraes, Pixinguinha and Hermeto Pascoal. So it's hardly surprising that our oboist was drawn to the quirky, joyous world of this unclassifiable poly-instrumentalist. A Brazilian attached to the folklore of his country, Pascoal introduced into his superb melodies all the ingredients of the time: fusion, free, with undeniably that sense of rhythm and colour so typical of South American music.
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In a single piece, Jean Luc Fillon takes us on a journey between ethnic music, the folklore of our provinces (Poitou, Catalonia) and Italy (Sardinia, Piedmont), free jazz and the most twentieth-century contemporary music, linked by transitions that seem natural to us but are in fact in the realm of performance. There's a wonderful festive quality to ‘Chorinho pra ele’, which we all remember but don't always know is Pascoal. On tracks such as ‘Doce de Coco’ and ‘Carinhoso’, the jazz comes through very finely, with a delicious hint of nostalgia: suddenly, Oboman is playing and swinging with ease. Lastly, there's a dizzying speed and virtuosity in the sinuosities and volutes, particularly in the perfect unisons with the mandolin. Jean Luc Fillon has already successfully practised the same process with the accordion in his previous CD, Oboréades. On this occasion, his instrumental mastery is singular. The synchronisation of rhythm, intonation and phrasing is perfect, note for note, in a style of unbridled improvisation. An impressive piece of fine-tuning.
A Cd to listen to quickly.
- Sophie Chambon, Les Dernières Nouvelles du Jazz -
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Oboa Nomade
Oboman and Symphonic Orchestra
‘Oboist Jean-Luc Fillon concludes his ’fruitful and prolific‘ three-year residency with a creation, during a long weekend dedicated to the ’Nomadic Oboe‘, with masterclasses, exhibitions, impromptu concerts and a classical recital... Combining his jazz trio with a symphony orchestra, the “polyglot” oboist has benefited from the support of l'Onde to develop daring projects.’
- Jacques Denis, La Terrasse
“In the performing arts, cultural cross-fertilization is very much in vogue: sometimes there's an exchange, but often there's only juxtaposition, the ”world musician“, the ‘star’, using the classical ”musicians" to have a carpet of strings on which to shine. That's why the meeting with Jean-Luc and his trio 15 days ago was an exceptional musical and human moment, which will remain engraved in the minds of all the musicians in the orchestra (as evidenced by the texts of satisfaction received after the concerts). We were first invited, without obligation, to a 2-day improvisation workshop; the generous teaching adapted to each individual made our mouths water, and taught us a lot. A few colleagues and I took up the challenge of doing a little chorus during the concerts (crazy me!!!). From the very first half-hour of rehearsal, we were able to taste the quality of the arrangements, each one bringing out the best in the other. What can we say about Jean-Luc's talent: a transcendent technique at the service of a form where sterile chatter is outlawed, as is the catalog of effects. Yet the “master” knows all about micro-intervals, multiphonics, etc... and uses them to good effect with a sound that's powerful but never distorted: invention, sensitivity: great art, I tell you. The same goes for his friends João Paulo, Jarrod Cagwin and Bruno Rousselet. My dearest wish is to be able to play this program again, which delighted the audience and the musicians with its quality and originality."
- Alain Hervé, oboe soloist with L'Ensemble de Basse-Normandie -
Echoes of Freedom
Oboman - Johan Renard - Claude Tchamitchian - François Merville
Jazzmagazine
"Ten years after his Echoes of Ellington, Jean-Luc Oboman Fillon's intention with this latest disc seems to be to pay tribute to Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz.
This celebration of musical freedom has the clever idea of not following in the pioneer's footsteps; of not repeating, therefore, the sounds and atmospheres so often replayed elsewhere.
Instead, the audacity of this album is more happily found in the byways, and even more so when these lead to the bright lights of the South and the East.
The lighting is most conducive to giving the music splendid colors.
Lasciviously convoluted melodies glisten, with oriental swaying that sometimes recalls the Masadian themes with which violinist Mark Feldman has already shone.
The strings rub, the oboist's soft or husky growls weave and meander around the rhythmic framework, which is in turn lively, martial and sometimes suspended to the point of being disquieting. A charming record."
- Aymeric Morillon, Citizen Jazz -
Oboman plays Cole Porter
Oboman - João Paulo - Fred Eymard
"Begin the Night (actually a contraction of “Begin the Beguine” and “Night & Day”) is a fine invitation from Oboman (Jean Luc Fillon) for his new trio album after 7 albums as leader. This time it's a tribute to the Broadway musician and poet Cole Porter, who died just 50 years ago. And in a supremely elegant move, the album will be released on 15 October, the date of the death of this prolific songwriting genius.
"Jean-Luc Fillon is a lover of double reeds and the oboe in particular. In fact, he has coined his nickname in reference to this instrument, which he puts in contrasting situations depending on his projects. This time, he brings together a “chamber” trio for a personal and original approach to Cole Porter's great classics. The combination of oboe/English horn and viola (Frédéric Eymard) is particularly pleasing to the ear. The remarkable Portuguese pianist João Paulo creates a precise and sensitive harmonic mesh for this music that is, by its very nature, lilting".
- CULTURE JAZZ -
"Everyone knows Cole Porter, even the youngest, and his songs have toured the planet from the 1920s to the 1950s, etched in our memories in the interpretation that made them famous, in Hollywood. Take Marilyn for ‘My Heart Belongs to Daddy’ in Let's Make Love or Fred Astaire for ‘Night and Day’ in one of his most glamorous sequences with Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee.
Sometimes you don't know it's him, but more often than not, the title is on the tip of your tongue... which is what happened to Oboman himself before recognising ‘Easy to love’ and adding not without humour that ‘Love is everywhere’ ...in Cole Porter, although you could add that it's also about tough, desperate or hopeless love as in ‘Love for sale’, ‘What is this thing called love?’ Cole Porter knew how to use music to bite into the reality that might elude him, often revealing himself to be vulnerable, strangely familiar. With his solid classical training, Cole Porter quickly took a liking to jazz and the music of the time, and became particularly famous for his work in musicals, with such Broadway hits as Anything Goes.
Twelve titles, among hundreds of songs, must have been a difficult choice for the trio without rhythm section, made up of Joao Paulo on piano, Fred Eymard on viola (it's a violin) and Jean Luc Fillon on oboe. "A trio with a romantic instrumentation to serve the lyricism of the Broadway poet, who makes classical music resonate with jazz and the learned music of the 20th century.
A story begins with the memory of this musician... Even if the melodies remain, the harmonics are revisited and the arrangements are sufficiently rhythmic to get you out on the dance floor and inviting you to dance...
This is one of the hallmarks of Cole Porter's music, so there is no mistaking this impeccably coherent journey, which transforms Cole Porter's standards by adapting them to Oboman's particular style. A lover of the oboe's highly original timbre, Jean Luc Fillon has chosen to serve the instrument - from which he is capable of achieving everything, by pushing back its limits - in a context other than that of the classical repertoire. Without re-enacting these songs as a “revivalist”, Oboman succeeds in adapting the brilliant world of the author, superficial in appearance and light-hearted. Not at all opposed to the American tradition, the trio revives it, but in a different way. It's beautiful, it's something else and at the same time it's still Cole Porter, evoked in a luminous way. Tearing yourself away from the continuity of time, only to find yourself back in it again. That's a really worthy way of revisiting it. What could be more jazz about that attitude? Respect.
- Sophie Chambon, Les Dernières Nouvelles du Jazz -
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African Dream
Oboman - Lulendo - Navarre
"The percussionist Xavier Desandre Navarre and the oboe player Oboman have always shown, in their many musical experiments, an openness and a very sure taste. In Lulendo, an Angolan singer with a smooth voice and quick thumbs when he plays the Quissange, they have certainly found a partner to match. Sweet melodies and fraternal listening await you!
- Louis Julien Nicolaou, Télérama -
Oboréades
Oboman - Ithursarry
‘For Jean-Luc Fillon and Didier Ithurrsarry, the programme will be largely that of the album released in 2012 (’Oboréades, 52ème Rue est‘): compositions by the two partners, plus the explosive Bebe by Hermeto Pacoal; but with the renewed vigour of jazz ’on the fly", because these two don't like to play the same game over and over again. Here, all the colours of the world (and indeed of all worlds) shine through, in a music that wraps the pulse of new tango in the swirls of pure jazz. The accordionist dares to play an inflexible swing and an infernal drive, while Jean-Luc Fillon's oboe regales us with a resolutely torrid chorus. The arrangements are meticulous, but with a feline suppleness (in Le Chat Pacha, among others). Elsewhere, odd rhythms and funky grooves are combined. The audience (including yours truly) is won over, and their enthusiasm is rewarded with an encore that doesn't appear on the record, but comes from Jo Privat's repertoire: Rêve Bohémien."
- Xavier Prévost, Les dernières nouvelles du Jazz à Jazz Campus -
On the Reed Again
Oboman - Mike Rabinowitz -
Michael Felberbaum - Bruno Rousselet - Karl lannuska
"When Parisian jazz oboist Jean-Luc Fillon and New York bassoonist Mike Rabinowitz met in Texas in 2005, they quickly realised that on both sides of the Atlantic they had a similar goal: to bring double-reed instruments into traditional jazz. This beautiful CD bears witness to that result, featuring these two artists together in a clever album of swing jazz, finely crafted and beautifully performed.
Most of the works on the CD are compositions by Jean-Luc or Michael, with one piece by guitarist Michel Felberbaum and one by pianist Peggy Stern, an interesting ballad called The Aerie. The style is generally cool, modern East Coast jazz, with lots of improvisation from all the members of the ensemble, especially Jean-Luc and Mike.
I particularly liked Jean-Luc's Spick and Span, which opens the album, with its unique melody, and Mike's lovely warm ballad for Jean-Luc, with its beautiful contrapuntal interplay between the instruments, as well as its clever bass solo; indeed, you won't find a dull or contrived piece among the 11 compositions on the album. On the contrary, this is inspired, playful jazz. It's clear that these guys really enjoy playing together. Occasionally, Jean-Luc takes up the English horn and is able to improvise with the same great talent and knowledge as on the oboe. What's more, both performers use sound effects (multiphonics, etc.) in Les 100 Ciels de Jean-Luc! In terms of tonal colour, the best cut on the album is Mike Felberbaum's Boody, with some fine improvisations by both bassoon and guitar, as well as a lovely English horn and guitar counterpoint in the intro and conclusion. And so it goes throughout this lovely, very colourful CD, right up to the last previously unreleased piece, which is a lovely improvisation for English horn and bassoon alone - a fine finishing touch.
I think it's interesting to note that it was the French, through composers such as Stravinsky (a Russian, but living in Paris), Milhaud and Ravel, to name but a few, who first recognised the novelty and power of jazz and began to incorporate it into their own music. Jean-Luc is now taking up the torch! ‘Vivre la France!’ In many ways, this recording is a unique ‘first’ in bringing the double-reed instrument family to the forefront of a jazz recording. Let's hope these guys give us more surprises like this in the future!
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To those of us who would like to try jazz, I suggest using this beautifully recorded and beautifully performed CD as a primer or teaching tool for your own double-reed jazz efforts. There is much to hear and learn on this fine disc! "
- Ron Klimko, International Double Reed Society Quarterly Journal-
"A disc of "real" jazz today featuring oboe and bassoon as principal soloists deserves special attention, as these two instruments rarely venture outside the territories of classical and contemporary music, and this adventure is not without risks: the risk of the classical musician "landing" in jazz without language or culture, the risk of the jazz musician tinkering with these difficult instruments in an approximate, even caricatural way. Fortunately, Frenchman Jean-Luc Fillon and American Mike Rabinowitz fall into neither category. Specialists in love with their instruments (to which Fillon naturally adds the English horn), they have taken the time to develop genuine improvisational skills based on a solid classical technique. The music on offer, an intelligent synthesis of modality (Lateef) and modern jazz (Mintzer, Quest...) is nothing short of spellbinding.
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The combination of the two timbres, rich and tight, obviously brings its share of mystery but, and this is where the real success lies, our interest is only partly based on the presence of this strange instrumental pair: the discourse woven through the ten original compositions is solid, energetic and inspired, far from any exotico-instrumental cliché."
- Eric Quénot, Jazz Magazine -
"The jazz oboist has just signed the most decisive album of his daring musical career.(...)
This Franco-American quintet, called "On the Reed... Again!", uses unheard-of sonic arguments to question a certain idea of contemporary jazz, intense, inventive and fresh, helped by the total commitment of its musicians(...)".
- Jean-Luc CARADEC, La Terrasse -
"Even if they make a few incursions, oboe, English horn and bassoon remain distant cousins in the jazz family. Jean-Luc Fillon on the oboe and horn and Michael Rabinovitz on the bassoon bring them together in this On the Reed... Again, to which their timbres give an original and seductive personality...".
- extract from the review by Yann Mens, La Croix -
"This album, which brings together New York bassoonist Mike Rabinowitz, guitarist Michael Felderbaum, double bassist Bruno Rousselet and drummer Karl Jannusha, develops a musical discourse of great seductive power, made up of highly polished pieces whose originality is perhaps due more to the form than the content.
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A discourse - or rather a journey, as the title and cover suggest - that draws its singularity from the presence of the oboe and bassoon, since these two instruments are only exceptionally included in jazz formations. The approach is modern, relaxed and groovy. The tracks, all highly accomplished, are composed exclusively by the members of the group and clearly draw their richness from a wide range of influences that are perfectly accepted and integrated, even flirting at times with free music (the track Kairos). But they all develop melodic phrasing stretching out in long, skilfully constructed tracks.
I particularly like Spick & Span and its tense, Coltranian intro. The track Anandepossesses something of a Weather Report tune, in its construction and chords. Not surprisingly, there are some fine ballads on this album (The Aerie, For Jean-Luc), to which the dark timbres of the oboe and bassoon lend a sometimes melancholy, even tragic flavour (particularly on the beautiful melody Booty, and on Twin Flowers - In memoriam 11 September 2001). On Les 100 Ciels, J.-L. Fillon and M. Rabinowikz develop a complex and inventive harmonic interweaving with their respective woodwind instruments, suddenly completed by a guitar digression reminiscent of Mike Stern or Pat Metheny.
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It's a rather well-crafted and accessible piece of music, carried by musicians who seem to be enjoying themselves - particularly on a track like Vertigo, where the almost irrepressible excellence of the rhythm section is a prime example.
Technical:
All the human and technical resources have been brought together to make this album sound good. The original timbres are captured and transcribed simply and directly, with great presence and cleanliness. The sound of the bassoon's keys, the oboist's breath, the double bassist's bite and the drummer's strike - everything is reproduced at true scale!
- Christian Izorce, ECOUTEZ Voir -
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Oborigins
Oboman - João Paulo - Jarrod Cagwin
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"Lovers of well-crafted melodies and silky, generous jazz (without ever forcing its way through the eardrums) can rejoice at the release of this recording by oboist and English horn player Jean-Luc Fillon. Surrounded by empathetic musicians, he offers us a refined musical promenade, magnificently recorded...
The compositions, all written by the leader, are remarkable springboards for the soloists to soar...
This nomadic jazz is an invitation to travel. An opening onto the world.
- extract from the review by Renaud Czarnes, Jazzman -
‘On his website, Jean-Luc Fillon quotes Chekhov: ’In the past, I considered that every original was sick and abnormal, but now I consider that the normal state of a man is to be an original. The same is true of the normal state of the records we listen to; they have to be original, otherwise they get boring. And there are very few of them that last, that hold your ear with that little something and that almost nothing that have always made the difference.
Oborigins is one of them. The chemistry between the instrumentalists is obvious. Without a moment's hesitation, it permeates the entire recording. Jean-Luc Fillon, Joao Paulo, Jarrod Cagwin and Michel Bénita tell an indescribable story with multiple accents. Whether they're revisiting Monk and Corea or immersing themselves in Mediterranean-influenced compositions, whether they're drawing on classicism or breaking away from it, they draw the listener into their universe with disarming ease, captivating them in a kaleidoscopic space where the dreamlike impressions of an unparalleled adventure, nourished by diversity, follow one another.
The travel poetry of the melodies written by Jean-Luc Fillon encourages empathy. It works on balance and fulfilment, two reliable fuels that don't pollute the spirit. Listen to this tale of a thousand and one notes, it shines with a nitescent lustre. Unless you choose to take this tour of a world on LP; the detours are worth the journey."
- Yves Dorison, culturejazz.net -
“Oborigins” is an audacious musical project on the theme of travel, bringing together oboist and multi-instrumentalist Jean Luc Fillon, his travelling companion, pianist João Paulo, American percussionist Jarrod Cagwin and special guest double bassist Michel Benita. Based on the form of Jean Luc Fillon's “Oboa” trio, this unique combination of oboe, piano and percussion opens the door to an instrumental geometry that is completely new in its genre, even in the absence of the not-so-essential drums. This album of compositions by the leader opens with an unexpected work (“Miss Shanghai”), a tribute, as Jean Luc Fillon tells us in his liner notes, to the new Byzantium of the 21st century, the city of Shanghai. This is a strange composition, with its chromatic melody. From the very first bars, a relatively Coltranian atmosphere emerges, a blend of European harmonic wisdom and subtle oriental modal evocations. This is followed by a languorous arrangement of “Bemsha swing” (entitled simply “Bemsha” on the record), Thelonious Monk's famous theme.
The instrumental mastery is total, especially in the masterful intro to the dance entitled “Miss Trall” (a nod to the wind that blows the hair of southerners). The poetry is at its most poetic. This imaginary fresco is the work of four creators in the service of an undeniable alchemy of sound. Another dance, this time called “Poseïdos”, takes us with panache along the routes of the explorer Marco Polo and all the adventurers of the world. But as the calm returns with all its weight, it is with meditation that he enchants us (“Pagode”). This soothing improvisation then gives way to a revisiting of a landmark in contemporary music, “Eternal Child”, originally a composition by Chick Corea for his Elektric Band in 1988. After so much audacity, it was time to return to the flesh, to the human pleasures of seduction in a Bolero filled with exquisite flavours (“Bolero for João”). Note the extreme sensuality of pianist João Paulo, who brings to the group all the subtlety of an improviser perfectly aware of the dynamics of his instrument. Jarrod Cagwin's remarkable rhythmic base also deserves a mention, as his talent adds oriental colours to these magnificent compositions. In the functions assigned to each instrument, there is no doubt that the oboe's role bears a certain resemblance to the aerial role of a saxophone within such a musical project, without denigrating the challenge that our protagonist meets with flying colours. The presence of double reeds on this instrument, which originated in Mesopotamia, is an added bonus when it comes to crossing borders. To round off this album of Mediterranean-influenced jazz, the musicians end with a fast-paced piece entitled “Druidos”, bringing out the joy in listening to such an album for the last time.
- Tristan Loriaut, lesdnj.com -
"Oborigins transports us to the East, to explore its original dimension...
a primitive world rich in modal colours, dancing like a flame, an almost enchanted world where life expresses itself spontaneously...
the music on this album is decidedly shimmering, as is Jean-Luc Fillon's playing. His sound is both close to and far removed from the soprano saxophone, but his originality lies more in his phrasing: he happily exploits a whole range of ornaments and melismas. Enough to give all instrumentalists ideas!
- extract from the review by Martin Guerpin, Jazz Magazine -
Echoes of Ellington
Oboman - Glenn Ferris - João Paulo -
Jean-Jacques Avenel - Tony Rabeson
‘This CD is an enchantment, a magnificent cast, a reprise of Duke's themes with original cadences, sometimes binary, and a nice little secret on ’the mooche" where the 5 friends place a bar in 3 beats on the 2nd and 6th bar of the A of the theme, giving the impression that the cycle is being repeated faster than on the original!
Well done, it sounds great! And I'll say it, the whole record is a real success, and with a great rhythm section, a pianist who plays superbly and a few guys who are not at their first recording marvel, it promised to be!
- Z, Jazz reviews and favourites -
"Jean-Luc Fillon against the hole in the ozone layer! (Echoes of Ellington)
Jean-Luc Fillon's excellent little combo reminds me - a little - of the experiments of Grass, Watkins and Schuller for Contemporary in the '50s, when the sound of these special instruments went into jazz, a devilishly special music for special people, like a glove. The same goes for the oboe, introduced to the ill-bred by Bob Cooper. In short, a little air of California on the Seine, or how to pleasantly warm the planet without increasing the hole in the ozone layer, but by filling our glasses twice as fast.
- Bannister, JAZZ VOICES -
"Fillon's oboe
It's not every day you get to hear the oboe in a jazz context. That was the case this evening at the Maison de la Radio, with a fine concert by the Oborigins trio, led by Jean-Luc Fillon, one of the instrument's rare specialists. He was joined by Michel Godard (tuba, snake) and Jarrod Cagwin (percussion), two old friends who both play in the various groups of Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil. The trio gave an entirely improvised concert, in which jazz rubbed shoulders with oriental modes and rhythms, for a powerfully expressive result that was both modern and archaic".
- Pascal Rozat, Jazzman.fr/Le Blog -
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"New colours for the Duke.
It was a bold undertaking, and it's a great success. Jean-Luc Fillon has written original arrangements of themes, often well-known but sometimes less so, by Duke Ellington. He had to dare to follow in the footsteps of the master of colours and timbres! If our daring jazzman has done so well, it's because he has creatively combined the sound of his favourite instrument, the English horn, with that of Glenn Ferris's trombone. And he has chosen a rhythm section of supple elegance (João Paulo on piano, Jean-Jacques Avenel on double bass, Tony Rabeson on drums). The tangy horn glides and twirls, while the trombone sometimes purrs and sometimes growls. You'll be amazed to rediscover the often-heard Caravan and Perdido in a whole new light. A moment of pleasure that fans will be able to share on stage at the Sunside (Paris-1er) on 17 and 18 May."
- Yann Mens, La Croix -
"Jean Luc Fillon has the curiosity of an enthusiast and the attention to detail of a handyman. Two qualities that the English horn player, a little-known instrument (it's a tenor oboe in F) puts to good use in a complicit rediscovery of Ellington's themes. Arranging is a difficult art. How do you bring in something new without altering the “spirit” of the composition?
Here, five musicians answer this riddle. Tony Rabeson on drums, Jean Jacques Avenel on double bass and Jao Paulo on piano provide lively, supportive accompaniment to the measured improvisations of Jean Luc Fillon's cor anglais and Glenn Ferris's trombone. You'll be charmed by the slender groove of The Mooche and the nostalgic interlude of I Got It Bad. But this is also about travel. With a cover of the shape-shifting Caravan and the chase evoked by Wig Wise. There's a lot of good stuff here. The exercise could have seemed complex. Jean Luc Fillon offers a sober, personal response. And with a disturbing ease.
- Vincent Fertey, musiQualité -
"At a time when Stéphane Oliva and François Raulin are releasing “Echoes of Spring” as a tribute to stride pianists, a return to Ellington is regularly a must, albeit a risky one. With “Echoes of Ellington”, oboist Jean Luc Fillon, a musician with an original career path who has always wanted to cross musical paths, has gone poaching in the neighbouring lands of improvisation. After his acclaimed Oboa, on which he had already tried his hand at improvisation, he is now stepping firmly out of his instrument's repertoire and tackling one of the giants of classical jazz. Covering Duke Ellington is never easy, because in the Duke's enormous body of work, isn't there jazz in its entirety?
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The instrumentation deserves a special mention: the English horn - even rarer in jazz than the oboe - is a strange instrument, not to say foreign: neither horn nor English, it is part of the winds, a double reed that also sounds a fifth below the oboe. The oboe is not generally favoured by the general public (its sound, sometimes criticised as sour and nasal, is nonetheless close to that of a soprano): a noble instrument - it gives the ‘A’ to the orchestra - fragile and complex, it has to adapt to the jazz landscape before it can claim legitimacy, which it can acquire by adapting the classics of Duke's big band.
Claude Carrière, the brilliant producer of France Musique's “Tout Duke” series, has made no mistake: in his impeccable liner notes, he presents a precise, original work that is nonetheless faithful to the spirit of these eternal themes that span a good part of jazz history: from the stainless steel The Mooche (1928) to Wig wise (1962), which marks Duke's “modern” encounter with Mingus and Roach, to name but a few.
Just as the conductor knew how to write for “his” men - Cootie Williams, Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, Ray Nance - and put the spotlight on them, these scores give pride of place to brilliant “soloists”.
Glenn Ferris's velvety, enchanting trombone provides a glittering, essential alliance, all twirling and caressing. He can also cover Juan Tizol's battle-horses Caravan and Perdido with vigour and jubilation, with a rhythm section trained to play these compositions made ‘simple’ by an unstoppable swing (the impeccable double bassist Jean Jacques Avenel and the percussive Tony Rabeson keep up the tension). The colourful pianist João Paulo, a loyal accomplice of JL Fillon's, makes some fine duet escapes on I got it bad or in the final Warm valley.
Jean Luc Fillon shows that he knows how to take hold of a musical form as a stylish visual artist, to use paraphrase and variation, to draw inspiration from it while diverting it in a relevant way, to revive the tradition in a clever way without making us forget the original for a single moment (I'm beginning to see the light). For while replaying would be contrary to the spirit of jazz, it would be impossible to absorb the Ellingtonian themes.
This reinterpretation of an entire era from a modern perspective, without forgetting its readability, is the hat-trick of an arranger who also knows how to take a back seat to his hero.
The caravan will go on for a long time.
- Sophie Chambon, JazzBreak -
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"It's a breath of fresh air. It's the opposite of a reconstruction or a carbon copy. On the contrary, it's the fruit of Jean-Luc's desire to take this series of great Ellingtonian themes and breathe new life into them with the fire of his own culture, memories and nostalgia, and to give unity to the whole, even though thirty-four years separate the creation of the oldest work, The Mooche, from that of the most recent, Wig Wise... To make music for today on a repertoire from yesterday which, it's true, has never aged. So let's savour the new The Mooche, in which Glenn Ferris takes us back to the Duke's jungle better than anyone else could, or the swinging, strangely exotic Caravan. There are also daring covers of masterpieces from the 40s, the apogee of the composer's art: Morning Glory. All Too Soon and Warm Valley, singularly corrected to unexpected, odd or Latin rhythms, and I Got It Bad, a song from the revue ‘Jump for Joy’ created in 1941, which is dressed up in a very contemporary chic duet. Finally, let's salute Avenel's fine double bass solo on Perdido, bigly shaken up by Glenn, the radical re-reading of Lady in Blue, the larger-than-life Cleopatra of Half the Fun, and Wig Wise, the “modern” Ellington of the meeting with Mingus and Max Roach on 17 September 1962, who was to do it again nine days later with Coltrane, as if he still needed to prove his eternity... The seduction and originality of Fillon's music obviously owe much to the instrument he uses, the English horn, a tenor oboe in F. The horn is “English” for lack of a better word. This horn is ‘English’ because it is not angelic, as it should have been in Old German. It is all the more confusing because absent-minded translators have often turned it into a ‘French horn’! Purcell's Dioclesian was the first example of this in the 17th century. It also works wonders in Bach's St Matthew Passion, in the ‘Scène aux champs’ from Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique (a hair-raising solo on the rolls of three timpani), in Debussy's La Mer, in Ravel's Daphnis and Concerto in G, at the start of Stravinsky's Sacre, and so on. This great “oboe of love”, disturbing and mysterious, knows how to play on many of our feelings. Jean-Luc boldly and virtuosically gives us new ways to love it"- Claude Carrière, France Musiques -
Flea Market
Oboman - João Paulo - Carlo Rizzo
‘A few months after the release of his remarkable album ’OBOA" on the Deux Z label, oboist J-Luc Fillon is extending and amplifying his unique, innovative and historic approach to integrating his instrument into the world of improvisation. One of the most striking experiments in jazz today, widely applauded by the critics and encouraged by Bob Mintzer, Martial Solal and Glenn Ferris. With Portuguese pianist João Pauo, the leader's alter-ego, and Joël Grare on percussion."
- Jean-Luc CARADEC, La Terrasse -
"This album by poly-instrumentalist Jean-Luc Fillon (oboe, English horn and even double bass on a few tracks) is unquestionably his most homogeneous recording. Formed with pianist João Paulo and percussionist Carlo Rizzo, who is not present on all the tracks of the previous album (“OBOA”), the trio is here united from start to finish. On a totally original repertoire (with the exception of the traditional theme, les Prisons de Nantes, which is very effectively dusted off), the complicity acquired between the musicians increases the density of their interventions (as well as the pianist's chorus) and enables them to broaden their expressive palette with great freshness and aptness.
As the tracks progress, we hear inventive work on timbres (the grain of the percussion on Rouïane, the buzzing effect of the piano in the bass on One to On, which takes the place of a double bass!), on orchestral texture (recording and amplification helping), and on rhythms (Vice and Versa).
With a beautiful and coherent diversity of climates and formats (notably the long pieces by the pianist, especially La Peau), the music is always attentive to harmonic colors and the quality of the pulse. Borrowing its fragrance from folklore without ever anchoring itself to it, it even allows itself the luxury on Flea Market, for the benefit of hard-core jazz fans, of orienting the improvisation towards the Nardis grid.
The undeniable confirmation
OBOA
Oboman - João Paulo - Carlo Rizzo
"It's a real pleasant surprise to listen to Jean-Luc Fillon's Oboa CD. I've often wondered why the oboe hasn't been featured in jazz. It's been done, and done well. The music is magnificent, as are the sounds. Jean-Luc Fillon has found his voice (or his way...) and I'm certain of the future of this formula. Bravo - *** - A special mention to Denis Leloup on trombone."
- Marc Steckar -
"A word, a day, a thought, a look at OBOA...
In a cautious record market, there are few musicians who manage to carve out an original career path. Jean-Luc Fillon is one of them. A double bassist, oboist and English horn player with a solid classical background, he could have been - like the talented Bob Mintzer, whom he accompanied - just one of those multi-instrumentalists destined to be luxuriously marginalised. Jean-Luc Fillon has avoided this pitfall by forging an original complicity that now unites him, in a remarkable symbiosis, with pianist João Paulo and percussionist Carlo Rizzo, and by drawing on a vibrant and colourful universe: from Hispano-Oriental sounds to bop references to traditional songs.
From “Oboe Sessions” (a bit of a mishmash) to the more homogeneous “OBOA” and his recent “Flea Market”, Jean-Luc Fillon has certainly introduced instruments rarely used in jazz; above all, he has created an original orchestral colour, full of sensuality and pulse.
- Stéphane Carini, JAZZMAN -
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"You've never heard jazz played like this. For Jean-Luc Fillon is quite simply the first to perform it on oboe. “Du très beau travail”, wrote Martial Solal after listening to it. Le Parisien is a hit. Everything that makes a great jazz musician can be found in his playing: ideas, sound and originality. What's more, he's got a real zest for life! A former bassist with a number of renowned groups, including Bob Mintzer's from 1998 to 2000, he has decided to indulge in the delights of improvised music with his instrument of choice: the oboe. Sardinian tambourine player Carlo Rizzo currently provides the rhythm section. An additional guarantee of being pleasantly surprised"
- Bruno Pfeiffer, Marianne -
"OBOA, an album (Deux Z/Nocturne) recorded with pianist João Paulo and the searching head of tambourine player Carlo Rizzo, proves to be quite breathtaking. A live listen is a must."
- Martine Lachaud, L'EXPRESS -
"(...) Initially sought after as a partner by some of today's jazz heavyweights, Fillon is now giving priority to developing his career as an instrumentalist-improviser and composer. In June 2001, he reunited with Portuguese pianist João Paulo, who gave a new impetus to his music. A new duo album (with guest percussionist Carlo Rizzo) is out today, testifying to their rare and fruitful complicity. (...)"
- Jean-Luc Caradec, La Terrasse -
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"Rêve de troubadour...
In other times, I'd imagine Jean-Luc Fillon to be a troubadour on the road, so diverse, complementary and unavoidable are the paths he has travelled, converging on a single point: that of pleasure and self-sacrifice. One can be a troubadour from father to son; Jean-Luc Fillon is anything but a child of the ball, and in this album he can take to his own account the medieval expression “sans feu, ni lieu” (“without fire or place”) referring to abandoned children taken in by an adoptive family. To his adoptive mother, he dedicates the music on “Pour toujours”. The intoxication of music has taken its toll on this blind lineage.
The guitar or the flute would have made the task easier for our nomad, anxious from his very first steps to cross musical paths. The violin, despite its fragility, can also be taken on the road, and travel musicians around the world have adopted it, Jean-Luc almost speaks of it with envy or nostalgia. The oboe has a completely different history... and yet our troubadour loves this aristocratic instrument, too fragile and complex to conquer the general public straightaway, even if he mischievously admits that it was in saxophone class that he first wanted to study when he was a kid, and that it was only a trivial staffing problem that led him to the oboe, at that time of life when destiny sets in. Perhaps it's no coincidence that today, after years of research on his instrument, Jean-Luc has achieved on his oboe (and his sidekick, the English horn) the ease of sax phrasing!
Let's turn to the paths taken by our “bulimic” troubadour. Even if he likes to say today that what's important is the music, not the instrument, his first instrument determined the very first music: the “repertoire” (baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary) of the oboe, the nurturing soil that still “carries” the musician today. Instrumentalist Jean-Luc Fillon? A good troubadour needs to be moved by music; he needs to know how to write music, occasionally conduct other musicians, and above all see how things are done in neighboring lands, in this case jazz lands. Jean-Luc does all this with passion, neglecting nothing, neither the classical concert, nor the wind band, nor the big band. And if, at first, the oboe seems resistant to these new soundscapes, or conversely, if jazz has trouble adopting it, never mind!... Jean-Luc takes a few detours to the bass guitar and double bass, because with them he can immediately sing in the idiom of newly conquered lands.
The troubadour's infidelity?
But the instrument of its origins is not asleep in its black case. It's just waiting for an opportunity to claim its rightful place in this new idiom. And as the life of a nomadic musician is made up of encounters, the one with Bob Mintzer in 1998 was decisive. It was he who first encouraged Jean-Luc to develop his research into improvisation with his original instrument, the oboe. A fine token of friendship and trust, Bob Mintzer even wrote a “French Suite” for oboe/English horn and tenor sax shortly afterwards.
The story could have ended there, but it has only just begun. The troubadour has been transformed into an active, speculative laboratory man, working on his reeds like an alchemist on his flasks. Troubadour reconverted? On the contrary, the taste for musical travel has increased; the laboratory man often leaves his lair to offer the fruit of his research to different audiences. The troubadour's dream is coming true: “it doesn't matter what the bottle is, as long as you have the intoxication”. In other words, the original instrument has been rethought to such an extent that the musician has ended up erasing its ungrateful features, or at least making even the most sensitive and knowledgeable jazz musicians, such as Martial Solal, forget them.
The intoxication is there... and with it the need to offer the music one has within oneself.
As he left his lair, the nomadic musician inevitably crossed paths with a Lisbon pianist and poet in his own right, João Paolo, and later with Carlo Rizzo, an Italian percussionist who had taken refuge in Savoie and with whom he shared a common exploratory spirit. The result of their encounter is this album, with the same quest for origins running through it. Jean-Luc Fillon's origins have the mystery of a veiled childhood, but his taste for the Mediterranean and the Orient may one day overcome the mystery... João Paolo found his origins by exploring traditional Portuguese music, after a long stay in France, and if improvisation and jazz were his first contact with music, the exploration of his roots fed the pianist's already fertile imagination. The story of Carlo Rizzo, born in Venice, is undoubtedly the most deeply rooted in tradition, having made traditional Italian music and the tambourines of southern Italy his essential mode of expression. However, the need to marry these instruments with modern ones soon became apparent to him, and a few years of research and workshop work transformed this other troubadour into an inventive luthier, author of two new drums with unprecedented effects (the polytimbral and multitimbral).
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I'd be willing to bet that since his meeting with Jean-Luc Fillon, the research of one has benefited the other, and that the oboe will one day produce the sounds of a tambourine... Enough to put jazz lovers off their guard once again!"
- Anne Montaron, France Musiques -
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Jazzogene Orchestra
Tribute to George GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
"Pianist and great composer - he can be found on record playing his own arias (Pro Arte) or backing Adele and Fred Astaire in the twenties (IMP; EPM Musique) - George Gershwin was one of Broadway's leading composers with, among others, Lady be good, Oh, Kay!, Funny Face, Girl crazy and Porgy and Bess, as well as writing Rhapsody in blue, An American in Paris and the Concerto in F for orchestra and film.
Georges Rabol, who is of West Indian origin and trained at the Paris Conservatoire, has long been closely associated with this music, so it is a pleasure to see him associated with this anthology. Although Gershwin is not directly associated with jazz, many of his famous melodies have been covered by jazz musicians. It is in this spirit that these two discs were conceived by the musicians of the Jazzogène Orchestra, directed by Jean-Luc Fillon and led with ardour by Rabol. Fillon jazzes up Un Américain à Paris (1928) and Philippe Selve eubanises the Cuban Overture (1932) and the Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra - also known as the Manhattan Rhapsody, which Serge Koussevitzki premiered in 1932 at the head of his Boston Symphony Orchestra. For the Variations on “I got rhythm” for piano and orchestra (1934), a more swinging interpretation may be preferred, particularly in the original version for voice and orchestra from the opera Porgy and Bess, but this one, arranged by Rabol, is not lacking in appeal. The famous Rhapsody in Blue (1924), intended by the author to be more Debussian than jazzy, is performed here in Ferde Grofé's instrumentation, revised by Fillon who lightens the orchestration and draws it, precisely, towards Ravel and Debussy (the dialogue with the solo violin -Elsa Scavo- is splendid). Once again, Georges Rabol proves himself to be ideally sensitive, as in the brief and highly inspired Trois Préludes pour piano seul from 1926 and the arrangement he made of the suite from Porgy and Bess".
- Franck Maller, Le Monde de la Musique -
Master Class of Obo-Super-man
"Jérôme and I have long had the idea of inviting Jean-Luc Fillon to give a master class at the CNSMD in Lyon. We were able to realise this project at the beginning of March this year. We were particularly attracted by Jean-Luc's artistic profile and background: a jazz musician with an initial classical training on an instrument like the oboe, which is not necessarily renowned for its ability to adapt to this repertoire, intrigued us.
It was a truly exceptional masterclass! A great moment of teaching based on personal experience and development, full of humility and research into broad musical horizons rich in diversity.
A few years ago, I had the great honour of giving some advice to Jean-Luc when, still a student, he was aiming for a totally classical career. I've rediscovered a Master! His artistic path, so open and dynamic, enabled him to evolve very quickly by practising some essential principles such as orality and improvisation that the classical repertoire and the way it is generally transmitted do not give priority to.
His targeted, effective and direct demonstrations, enhanced by fun exercises, have captivated and convinced students and teachers alike! I could go on and on about all the subjects that Jean-Luc touched on during his time with us, but I could never be as convincing as the artist himself.
I can only advise my colleagues to invite him to their classes. It will be an unforgettable experience, both artistically and pedagogically, as well as on a human level. Many thanks to Maître Fillon, who will be visiting us again very soon!
- Jean-Louis Capezzali, Professor at the CNSMD in Lyon and the HEM in Lausanne, former soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France & Jérôme Guichard, Professor at the CNSM in Lyon, soloist with the Orchestre National de Lyon -