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Quand le son devient aigu, jeter la girafe à la mer.

by Jacques Thollot

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1.
Cécile 03:54
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
N.G.A. 01:19
11.
12.
13.
Marche 01:18
14.
A suivre 00:32

about

While he was still just a young adolescent who had perfected his drum technique under the benevolent wing of Kenny Clarke, the Club Saint-Germain liked to present Jacques Thollot as a prodigy capable of holding his own with the famous jazz musicians who came through Paris. It was there that Eric Dolphy immediately noticed him, and from René Thomas to Walt Dickerson, everyone wanted to work with him. However, it was during the 1960s, first with Jef Gilson then François Tusques, Barney Wilen, Joachim Kühn and Steve Lacy, that the decisive encounters occurred. Without forgetting that he joined, in 1968, one of Don Cherry’s groups, went on tour with them and came back transformed.

That being said, to present Jacques Thollot as an in-demand virtuoso who could adapt to any circumstances would be to ignore both his demanding compositions and his complete freedom from stylistic boundaries. To prove the point, and although he had already featured on some cult albums (Our Meanings And Our Feelings by Michel Portal, Monkey-Pockie-Boo by Sonny Sharrock), the first album under his own name, recorded in 1971 for producer Gérard Terronès, who gave him free rein, would turn out to be an unexpected, unclassifiable and astounding work.

Entitled Quand le son devient aigu, jeter la girafe à la mer, (when the sound gets high-pitched, throw the giraffe into the sea) it is an extraordinary sonic collage, created from discrete re-recordings and using just a handful of instruments including drums and piano. The result is a miracle, though the economy of means the production technique succeeds in putting the spotlight on the oddly elaborate compositions under an enigmatic but well-chosen title, borrowed from poet Henri Michaux. It puts into words the mysteries of a fragile melancholic universe which can be compared to another album by an iconoclastic drummer: The End Of An Ear by Robert Wyatt. The difference being the highly personal elements which shine through the French musician’s album, clearly drawn from listening intently to classics from Debussy, Ravel and Barraqué (whom he knew), a seam which he would continue to mine on his equally excellent following albums Watch Devil Go and Cinq Hops. Yes, it is true that Jacques Thollot recorded rarely under his own name (five albums during his lifetime), but what marvellous albums they are!

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[EN] "Quand le Son Devient Aigu, Jeter la Girafe à la Mer" is an immense album in every sense – from its title, surrealistic approach, to its excellent execution. Highly sought after for its rarity (like many records released on the Futura label), it's finally seeing a CD reissue, much to the delight of nostalgic listeners and, hopefully, many curious souls always ready to experience timeless musical compositions that defy the constraints of time. The brainchild of Jacques Thollot, a drummer extraordinaire who wears multiple hats on this album, it takes on the semblance of hallucinatory dreams sprinkled with jazz connotations heavily influenced by the free jazz movement. However, it doesn't hesitate to surprise us initially, only to ensnare us later with its disjointed, manipulated melodies, rearranged through manipulated magnetic tapes, accelerated, decelerated, or otherwise transformed ("Enlevez les Boutons, le Croiseur se Désagrège"). With a resourcefulness inherent to the technology of that era, Thollot perhaps unknowingly sketches what two decades later would be tirelessly crafted by electronic abstraction pioneers with a simple press of the Enter key on their computers (the magnificent "Cécile"). The album flirts with chamber music on "Quiet Days in Prison" with its mournful violin juxtaposed against an ever-so-stately piano, which occasionally takes on a feverish and sly demeanor in percussive assaults akin to Cecil Taylor ("Aussi Large que Long"). There's a hint of a progressive approach in these intricate constructions (the very brief "N.G.A." or "A Suivre," and the title track, relatively Zappaesque). In most cases, many of the tracks here provide a unique opportunity for the drummer to showcase his virtuosity behind the drum kit, armed with brushes or sticks. This is a categorically unclassifiable record that owes as much to jazz as it does to contemporary music, progressive rock, and the early days of electronic experimentation.

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[FR] Énorme album que ce "Quand le Son Devient Aigu, Jeter la Girafe à la Mer". Énorme par le titre, l'approche surréaliste, et l'excellence de son propos. Fort prisé pour sa rareté (comme beaucoup de disques parus sur le label Futura), il voit enfin le jour en réédition cd pour le plus grand bonheur de quelques nostalgiques et surtout, je l'espère, de bon nombres de curieux, toujours prêts à s'envoyer en travers des oreilles des pièces musicales sur lesquelles le temps n'a pas de prise. Fruit du travail du seul Jacques Thollot, batteur de son état, qui revêt ici toutes les casquettes, l'album a des allures de rêves hallucinogènes saupoudrés de connotations jazz largement inspirées du free. Ce qui ne l'empêche pas de nous surprendre, dans un premier temps, pour mieux nous happer, dans un second temps, avec ses mélodies boîteuses, trafiquées, réarrangées par bandes magnétiques triturées, recomposées, accélérées et/ou décélérées ("Enlevez les Boutons, le Croiseur se Désagrège"). Avec une économie de moyen propre à la technologie d'époque, Thollot dessine là peut-être sans le savoir ce que deux décennies plus tard les chantres de l'abstraction électronique s'évertueront à créer en appuyant seulement sur la touche Enter de leur ordinateur (le magnifique "Cécile"). On frôle la musique de chambre sur "Quiet Days in Prison" et son violon plaintif derrière un piano toujours aussi solennel, quand il ne se montre pas fiévreux et fourbe dans des attaques percussives à la Cecil Taylor ("Aussi Large que Long"). Une pointe d'approche progressive dans ces constructions alambiquées (les très courts "N.G.A." ou "A Suivre", ou encore la plage titre, relativement Zappaesque). Dans la plupart des cas, une grande partie des titres présentés ici demeurent une opportunité unique pour le batteur de démontrer tout son savoir-faire derrière fûts et cymbales, armés de balais ou de baguettes. Un disque proprement inclassable, qui doit autant au jazz qu'à la musique contemporaine, à la musique progressive qu'aux prémices de la musique électronique.
www.gutsofdarkness.com

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[JP] 「Quand le Son Devient Aigu, Jeter la Girafe à la Mer」というアルバムは、そのタイトルからアプローチ、そして素晴らしい実行まで、あらゆる点で非常に大きなものです。その希少性から(Futura Margeというレーベルからリリースされた多くのレコードと同様に)、多くのリスナーと、時間の制約に挑む好奇心旺盛な魂にとって、CDでの再発売は大歓迎です。

このアルバムは、ジャック・トロロの手によるものであり、彼はこのプロジェクトで多くの役割を果たしています。それは幻想的な夢のような要素を備えたジャズの意味合いを強く受けているフリージャズ運動に影響を受けています。最初は私たちを驚かせ、その後、磁気テープを操作し、加速、減速、または他の方法で再配置された切り離されたメロディで私たちを魅了します(「Enlevez les Boutons, le Croiseur se Désagrège」)。

テクノロジーの当時固有の賢さを備えながら、トロロはおそらく自分の知らないうちに、20年後の電子抽象のパイオニアたちがコンピューターのEnterキーを押すだけで不断に創り上げるであろうものを描いています(素晴らしい「Cécile」)。このアルバムは、「Quiet Days in Prison」で室内楽を探り、悲しいバイオリンがどっしりとしたピアノと対比され、時折、Cecil Taylorに似たパーカッションの攻撃で熱狂的でずる賢い振る舞いを見せます(「Aussi Large que Long」)。

これらの複雑な構築には進歩的なアプローチのヒントがあります(非常に短い「N.G.A.」または「A Suivre」と、相対的にZappaesqueなタイトルトラック)。ほとんどの場合、ここに収録されている多くのトラックは、ドラマーがブラシやスティックを持ってドラムセットの背後で彼の巧みさを披露するユニークな機会を提供します。これはジャズだけでなく、現代音楽、プログレッシブロック、そして電子実験の初期の日々に等しい負債を抱えた、分類できないレコードです。

credits

released March 1, 2017

Composed By – Jacques Thollot (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 14)
Coordinator – Marianne Fernel
Design [Maquette] – Fasm
Drums, Percussion, Piano, Organ, Effects [Electronic] – Jacques Thollot
Engineer – Claude Martenot
Engineer [Assistant] – Jean-Loup Talighani
Illustration – Pons (2), Oghia*
Producer – Gérard Terronès

Phonographic Copyright (p) – Terronès
Copyright (c) – Terronès
Recorded At – Studio Europa Sonor

Recorded on March 8th & 9th 1971 at the Studio Europasonor (Gaîté) in Paris.
℗ & © 1971-2014 TERRONÈS

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Jazz - Futura Marge Paris, France

Futura Marge is an independent French jazz label, established in 1969 by Gérard Terronès and presently overseen by Christophe Féray. The label has its headquarters in both Paris and Lyon, France.

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Futura Marge est un label de jazz français indépendant, créé en 1969 par Gérard Terronès et dirigé par Christophe Féray. Le label est situé à Paris et à Lyon, en France.

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