ABBAYE DE ROYAUMONT
Zodiac suiteSUNDAY JUNE 16TH 2024 - 4:00PM
Umlaut Chamber Orchestra
Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, direction
Performed for the first time in its original version by the Umlaut Chamber Orchestra, jazz composer Mary Lou Williams’ legendary Zodiac Suite, in which each movement corresponds to an astrological sign and… a famous musician!
Born in Atlanta in 1910, Mary Lou Williams is one of the most famous composers in the history of instrumental jazz. She learned piano from Mrs. Alexander – Erroll Garner’s teacher – performed on stage from the age of fifteen, and then played with the Twelve Clouds of Joys orchestra at nineteen. In the 1930s, she composed and arranged for Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. She taught Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, and travelled all over Europe, giving concert after concert. Her Zodiac Suite, dated 1945, is one of her most ambitious compositions. In this atypical and singular work, each movement corresponds to a musician and an astrological sign. Although originally written for piano, Mary Lou Williams undertook to arrange it for chamber orchestra – a version that was only performed once during her lifetime, with numerous cuts. It is this unknown version that is revived here, as imagined by the composer.
PROGRAMME
ZODIAC SUITE
MARY LOU WILLIAMS (1910-1981)
Zodiac Suite
DISTRIBUTION
UMLAUT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
PIERRE-ANTOINE BADAROUX, direction
UMLAUT CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Umlaut is an orchestra, a group of musicians, a taste for swing, archives, creation, performance and live music. The Umlaut Big Band is an orchestra of fourteen virtuoso musicians, present on today’s jazz and contemporary music scenes in France and Europe, who carry out a unique project of exploration and transcription, focusing mainly on the Big Band repertoire of the 1920s to 1940s. Directed by Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, Umlaut performs on stage arrangements rewritten on the basis of rare scores and recordings unearthed at the origins of the big band. Since 2016, the band has also been commissioning original works from its members and guest composers. The Umlaut Big Band rehearses every month at the Théâtre de l’Aquarium. It offers swing balls and concerts at BRUIT – Festival théâtre et musique. It presented MARY’S IDEAS, a project about a female jazz icon, Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), co-produced for its creative residency by la vie brève – Théâtre de l’Aquarium. A double album, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris in big band and chamber orchestra format in January 2021, was released in September 2021 on the Umlaut Records label.
PIERRE-ANTOINE BADAROUX
On stage, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux is a saxophonist. Off stage, he composes, arranges, researches, reconstructs or deconstructs his own music and that of others. As artistic director of the Umlaut Big Band, he uses his practical experience to explore the history of jazz, its re-reading and the work of arrangers. This work has led him to research the manuscripts of jazz musicians. His work on Don Redman and Mary Lou Williams has led to the discovery and performance of many forgotten works. He is currently working with the Mary Lou Williams Foundation, Inc. on the publication of a critical edition of her works. In 2023, he conducted the premiere of Williams’ Zodiac Suite for chamber orchestra in its entirety and original orchestration. To further his research in this field, he was selected as a resident for the Villa Albertine in 2023. He is currently a member of the Peeping Tom quartet, Jupiter Terminus and Protocluster. With Sébastien Beliah, he co-directed the Ensemble Hodos, dedicated to the performance of open works. They have collaborated with composers Philip Corner, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Bertrand Denzler, Peter Ablinger and Hannes Lingens. With ONCEIM, he has premiered works by Eliane Radigue, Peter Ablinger, Ellen Arkbro and John Tilbury. Since 2015, he has been co-organiser of the Jazz Series, a concert series that draws on the often forgotten jazz repertoire, and the Umlaut Festival.
ABBAYE DE ROYAUMONT
Address: Fondation Royaumont, F-95270 Asnières sur Oise
WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
From the train station in Luzarches (line H), shuttles allow to reach the Abbaye in 8 minutes, which means the ride from the Gare du Nord is less than an hour long.
More about the shuttles on the Abbaye de Royaumont website :
https://www.royaumont.com/preparer-sa-visite/infos-pratiques/acces/
DRIVE FROM PARIS
Take the A3, A1 and N104 to D316 in Mareil-en-France. Take the exit no. 94b and then leave the N104. Continue on D316. Take the D922 to the D909E in Asnières-sur-Oise.
EN VÉLO
Royaumont has received the certification « Accueil vélo ».
This certification states that a space reserved for bicycle parking has been set up in the parking lot, that there is a drinking water point for cyclists, sanitary facilities, a repair kit for minor damage (flat tire, derailment) and even a charging spot for electrically assisted bicycles…
The ride from the train station in Viarmes takes about 10 minutes.
DO YOU KNOW
MARY LOU WILLIAMS?
Mary Lou Williams (1910 – 1981)
Zodiac Suite
Umlaut Chamber Orchestra
Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, direction