photo by Jorge Fidel Alvarez
Performing January 19th at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston.
Are you in the mood for some slinky, silky jazz, Parisian style? Take an exotic trip without straying too far from home. The eclectic Paris Combo will be embarking on a tour that will feature their delightfully exotic music that combines “swinging gypsy jazz, cabaret, French pop, plus Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms.”
Starting on January 6, they’ll be in Washington, D.C.; Seattle; Berkeley and Folsom, California; Minneapolis, Chicago and Boston, before heading back to perform in France. Incredibly, this will be their 20th tour. Their most recent studio album is Tako Tsubo, and earlier this year they released an album of remixes from some of France’s top DJs, Paris Combo, Remixed. They’ve been working on material for a new album, and will premiere the songs on this tour.
The band features the seductive vocals of their charismatic chanteuse Belle du Berry (who also plays accordion), along with Django-influenced guitarist and banjo player Potzi, Australian-born trumpeter and pianist David Lewis, drummer-crooner François Jeannin and virtuoso bassist, Benoit Dunoyer de Ségonzac. For certain shows, they will also be joined by Rémy Kapriélan on percussion, vocals and sax.
Each member has a unique musical pedigree. Belle du Berry was in post-punk bands in the late 1980s, with influences as diverse as the B-52s, Arletti (a French singer-actress of the 1930s) and the Surrealists. Potzi’s guitar stylings are influenced by his own North African heritage and Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt. Lewis previously played with various Parisian bands, such as Arthur H and Manu Dibango. François adds his ska or Latin grooves to the potent mix.
They released their debut in 1997, and their second album, Living Room (1999), went gold. In 2004-5, they played three shows at the Hollywood Bowl. After a five-year hiatus, they returned to performing in 2011 and once again performed at the Hollywood Bowl, with a symphony orchestra. A fifth album followed, with a national U.S. tour in 2013-2014, in addition to other shows around the world.
Last year, they put out their sixth album (Tako Tsubo) and touring the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Tako Tsubo embraces a wide variety of musical styles, from their tight-knit combo to lush orchestral music to ’60s retro with psychedelic touches. They describe the subject matter as being about “the human physique and the way our emotional and physical beings interact.”
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