Obsession 3 Andy Emler & MegaOctet

• 1Tribalurban 104:17
• 2Doctor Solo06:04
• 3Trois Total06:57
• 4Ballalade 210:56
• 5La Megaruse07:41
• 6Tribalurban 216:33
• 7DieCoda02:48
• Total Runtime55:16

Info for Obsession 3

Yet despite all this, for over 25 years now, in its own fringes, the MegaOctet has fought to make its sound heard, with its own identity, background and musical language, smuggling its music on the sly into new pairs of ears. This band is a breeding ground musicians for whom “playing together“ is what it’s all about, all with a genuine yet lucid commitment to creative freedom.

„Still enthusiastic ! Playing and sharing the music we’ve created together. With everyone – and beyond. While our parallel projects and creative outlets live, survive and then stop, only to begin again in a different form. Writing, playing, working. Pas- sing on, communicating, traveling, learning... Always. In spite of the chaotic times we are living through, we continue to tirelessly campaign for artistic creation and the art of live performance, two essential sources. Politicians talk about a future for France where culture and artistic expression are only afforded minimal presence within school curricula, as if imagination itself were a form of subversion... On the airwaves, in the media, no- thing but commodified mass entertainment – a daily affliction, an ode to mediocrity, leveling people’s ability to think critically and aspiration to elevate themselves. Radio and television are potentially wonderful tools for promoting education, awareness, information and cultural diversity. But what we see instead is the crushing of this evident notion under the weight of market shares. Depressing. Who controls the pipes ? Today’s technological revolution has made new contents available, with increased possibilities for disseminating them. Easy, then, to forget that what really matters, ultimately, is who “controls the pipes“. See for instance how the music industry has absorbed all distribution networks, leaving only scraps of that revenue to musicians and composers. Everywhere we go, we are constantly surrounded by this sonic pollution. Where is our freedom to think, choose our own sources of inspiration and listen to what we want to ? Same questions, asked again and again. Pressing questions indeed ! Yet despite all this, for over 25 years now, in its own fringes, the MegaOctet has fought to make its sound heard, with its own identity, background and musical language, smuggling its music on the sly into new pairs of ears. This band is a breeding ground musicians for whom “playing together“ is what it’s all about, all with a genuine yet lucid commitment to creative freedom.“ (Andy Emler)

Andy Emler, piano, composition, direction
Philippe Sellam, alto saxophone
Guillaume Orti, alto saxophone
Laurent Dehors, tenor saxophone
François Thuillier, tuba
Laurent Blondiau, trumpet
François Verly, percussion, marimba
Eric Echampard, drums
Claude Tchamitchian, double bass

Recorded live December 16 & 17th, 2014 at La Buissonne Studios, France
Recorded by Gérard de Haro and Nicolas Baillard
Mixing by Gérard de Haro and Andy Emler at La Buissonne Studios – Pernes-les-Fontaines
Mastering by Nicolas Baillard
Produced by Gérard de Haro and RJAL

Andy Emler
composer, pianist, a catalyst of enthusiasm, initiator of collaborations, arranger, a lover of improvisation, is a man of invention.

After taking composition, harmony, counterpoint and fugue courses (Prize in counterpoint 1981 – variation for organ in the style of J.S. Bach and an orchestration class under Marius Constant – at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris) and Saturday night dances (rock, pop), he embarked on a variety of musical adventures with such notable musicians as : Antoine Hervé, Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Woody Shaw, Trilok Gurtu…

An educator by taste, keen to follow the age-old tradition of passing on musical desire and pleasure over generations, and a composer (ONJ 86, La Bande à Badault, WDR Big Band…), he is equally successful working with small and large ensembles.

He created his own personal laboratory, the MegaOctet in 1989 with 8 of the 1980s generation’s « most flamboyant improvisers », and was awarded the 1992 Django d’Or for best French jazz band of the year. This band left a huge mark on the early 1990s music scene.

Between 1994 and 1999, he was appointed co-director of the Scène Marnaise de Création Musicale, and took part in the collective adventure of POM, a big band of ever-shifting line-up.

In 2000, he formed a new incarnation of the MegaOctet, was artist-in-residence until June 2003 at the Espace Daniel-Sorano in Vincennes with the Compagnie aime l’air, which he formed with Thierry Virolle. He created “Pop Unit 2000“ with the MegaOctet, two dancers and video projections.

In parallel he performed in a duo with Philippe Sellam, in a trio with Denis Badault and Emmanuel Bex, and another with Claude Tchamitchian and Eric Echampard. He regularly works with Ars Nova and Pascal Contet on contemporary music projects and, of course, with the MegaOctet.

He also became in great demand as composer for many commissions for professional ensembles of all sizes as well as ensembles bringing together professional and amateur musicians.

November 2003 saw the release of “Tee time“ by the Emler, Tchamitchian, Echampard trio (which caught the press’s attention : “Emoi“ in Jazz Magazine, **** in Jazzman…), and “Bouts de souffles“, a duo with Pascal Contet.

Andy Emler and the Compagnie aime l’air were in an residency at L’apostrophe, Scène nationale de Cergy-Pontoise et du Val d’Oise, from September 2004 to June 2007.

Premiere for the MegaOctet with Michel Portal in November 2005 at Jazz au fil de l’Oise. …

Booklet for Obsession 3