Starting from Helsinki on 29 September, Free Voices, Free Sounds tour takes the French violinist to 14 different locations around Finland. Pifarély will be joined at some of the concerts by his fellow countryman, bass player Claude Tchamitchian and pianist Aki Rissanen whose newest solo album is due out later this autumn.
The Free Voices, Free Sounds tour this autumn will be a treat for friends of free improv as the acclaimed French violin artist Dominique Pifarély goes on an extensive Finnish tour, covering as many as 14 cities. The timing is apt, since Pifarély’s latest album – taking the listener far away from conventional violin music, deep into the world of improvisation – just came out on the respected Munich-based ECM Records. In three concerts, Pifarély’s fellow countryman Claude Tchamitchian will give a solo set of his own, and the artists will close the concerts with a duo performance. Also, Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen will appear on stage in two concerts. The tour will kick off from Helsinki’s Laulumiehet, with all three gents on stage.
Pifarély’s newest recording Time Before and Time After sees the violinist return to the distinguished league of ECM artists, since the 2007 Stefano Battaglia album Re: Pasolini. The material was recorded live in two concerts from 2012 and 2013 and it is entirely improvised apart from the closing track, jazz classic “My Foolish Heart”. Pifarély’s masterful violin-playing stretches boundaries but never sounds forced; the intimateness and immediateness of creation in the moment comes across from the album beautifully.
Born in Bègles, France, in 1957, Dominique Pifarély is a pioneering artist who has come a long way from straight-ahead jazz expression to realms of experimental expression. Especially the period of collaboration with Mike Westbrook and Vienna Art Orchestra marked this transition. In the 1980s Pifarély performed mainly with his own groups, collaborating with the likes of Louis Sclavis, Marc Ducret and François Couturier. He has appeared on a number of ECM releases alongside such artists as Stefano Battaglia and Louis Sclavis, and indeed the label has been an important channel of Pifarély’s music for decades. Time Before and Time After is his very first solo album.
Dominique Pifarély: Time Before and Time After
ECM Records 2015, ECM 2411 (released in August 2015)
Finnish distributor: Oy Fg-Naxos Ab
1. Sur Terre 2. Meu Ser Elástico 3. L'air Soudain 4. D'une Main Distraite 5. Avant le Regard 6. Gegenlicht 7. L'oubli 8. My Foolish Heart
Dominique Pifarély, violin
Dominique Pifarély of Free Voices, Free Sounds tour 29.9.–13.10.:
Tue 29.9. at 19 Helsinki, Laulumiehet (jaZZanti club) / also on stage: Claude Tchamitchian solo and Aki Rissanen solo
Wed 30.9. at 19 Joensuu, Pakkahuone / also on stage: Claude Tchamitchian solo
Thu 1.10. at 19 Jyväskylä, Siltasali / also on stage: Claude Tchamitchian solo
Fri 2.10. at 19 Loviisa, Keskus Centralen / also on stage Aki Rissanen solo
Sat 3.10. at 19 Mänttä, Koivuniemi
Sun 4.10. at 16 Jämsä
Tue 6.10. at 19 Loimaa, Taidetalo
Wed 7.10. at 19 Turku, Turun seudun musiikkiopisto
Thu 8.10. at 19 Pori, Porin pääkirjasto (Validi Karkia club)
Fri 9.10. at 19 Raahe, Raahen teatteri
Sat 10.10. at 19 Seinäjoki, private concert
Sun 11.10. at 16 Tampere, Tampere Art Museum
Mon 12.10. at 19 Kerava, vapaaehtoisen Hyvinvointityön keskus
Tue 13.10. at 18 Helsinki, Record Shop Digelius
The tour is produced by Free Sounds, Free Voices http://www.vapaataanet.fi
In collaboration with: L’Institut français de Finlande
Photo: Maarit Kytöharju