Until now, Benoit Viellefon & His Orchestra didn't attract much attention within the international swing dance scene.
With the release of this album, the band states that they are going in a new direction and that it's entirely dedicated to dance music.
Mon Amour
Release date: July, 2014
The album will not be available to download for quite a while. Instead, they pressed a 1000 limited edition deluxe CD (320 gsm Digipak + 12 page booklet).
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About The Album
Ladies & Gentlemen.
After five years and over 600 concerts, Benoit Viellefon & His Orchestra are proud to present their landmark album “Mon Amour”.
The swinging music of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940’s was not ‘on-trend' back in the early 2000s and the commercial show-business scene was less than enamoured with the style at the time. But since then, the public has time-and-time-again demonstrated their love for this music, with the orchestra playing hundreds of sold out gigs, from small jazz clubs such as London's infamous Nightjar, to major venues including The Royal Albert Hall, The Troxy Cinema, and the Blues & Jazz stage at Glastonbury eventually following suit. It is no exaggeration to say that the Orchestra, along with a handful of other bands, spearheaded the swing revival that has since swept Europe.
Benoit & the Orchestra recorded “Mon Amour” at London's Porcupine Studios in January 2014, with the extraordinary recording engineer Nick Taylor. This small family run studio has been a second home to successive generations of legendary British jazz artists, cutting high quality records since the early 1960s
The album itself features a selection of tunes from the 1920s to the early 1950s, eclectically sourced from the respective song books of the USA, England, and France. Focused throughout on providing music for dancing and for entertaining, the orchestra's admirable rhythm section of drummer Gaspar Sena, bassist Geoffrey Threadgold and pianist Joe Webb never fail to provide the driving swing that continues to make this style so popular. The young pianist Webb also provided an overwhelming majority of the arrangements on the album, all of which have proved to be extremely tasteful and effective..
Executing the horn arrangements with style and weighing in with inventive and swinging solos are the orchestra's horn section. Both reedsman Dave Shulman and trumpeter Pete Horsfall are founding members of the orchestra, and their contribution here is complemented by the outstanding tenor soxophone work of Duncan Hemstock and the tight section playing and solos of both saxophonist Fraser Smith and trumpeter Evan Clegg.
Benoit himself provides both the lead vocals and rhythm guitar throughout, in addition to contributing three original compositions in the style. Making her debut with the orchestra on this record, Gabrielle Ducomble, an outstanding vocalist originally from Belgium, features in duet with Benoit on the title track and provides backing vocals throughout. Her talent and professionalism in the studio was very obvious indeed and she decided to join the orchestra shortly after the record was finished. Furthermore, the talented actress and singer Anna Tyrie also guests on two tracks – a stylish contribution indeed.
Benoit and the orchestra have been fiercely independent in performing, producing and financing their own music. The ensemble has maintained creative control over their music and as a result has risen quickly from gigs mainly on the local London scene to performing regularly on the internationally stage. Whether it be playing for ordinary folks, or for statesmen and celebrities, they never falter in their endeavor to entertain their many audiences and to conquer each and every one of their hearts.
What do you think about this album?
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