French jazz veteran Louis Sclavis is renowned for his fabulous playing, especially on bass clarinet. He forms a duo with a true wizard on keys, Kari Ikonen, who previously played here accompanying Lee Konitz. The concert will be opened with a solo set by the Finnish pianist.
The career of pianist/composer Kari Ikonen is full of contrast. From super-positive afro pop jazz to dark space fusion, and from Fender Rhodes to Moog synthesizer: he continues to find new perspectives. At the moment he’s optimizing his own invention, the Maqiano, a magnetic device that can bend the sound of the piano strings to approach the tonal range of Arabic music. He received great acclaim for his recent solo piano album Impressions, Improvisations & Compositions, which includes, among others, remarkable renditions of standards by Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis.
When it comes to the bass clarinet, one simply cannot ignore Louis Sclavis, ‘one of Europe’s most creative contemporary musicians since the 1980s’ (Guardian). The Frenchman is renowned for his fabulous technique, and above all his imaginative playing. Using improvisation, he creates an ‘imaginative folklore’ of jazz and North-African and Breton folk music.
Louis Sclavis bass clarinet, Kari Ikonen piano