With Fragrance #1trumpeter Jacques Kuba Séguin explores the origins of life and its beginnings. This theme will be present and will evolve in the next two works that make up his musical trilogy project.
The Quebec musician loves perfume. He is challenged by nice smells and this love was the starting point of this trilogy.
“In perfumes there are top notes, which are very ephemeral and last about fifteen minutes, middle notes, which last all day, and base notes, which are always present at the end of the day,” he explained in an interview.
He found it amusing to draw a parallel between perfume and life.
“Youth, like the top note of a perfume, is fleeting and this is the first part of this trilogy,” he said.
The birth of his third daughter during the pandemic led him to this project. The pieces written by the trumpeter took a different direction with the contribution of pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, double bass player Rémi-Jean Leblanc, drummer Kevin Warren and singer Elizabeth Shepherd present on two tracks during rehearsals.
Photo courtesy of Larissa Media Relations
album cover
“It’s the first time I’ve made an album where all the musicians bring their grain of salt. There was a canvas, but nothing imposed. It was very exciting to put it back in their hands,” he explained.
Norwegian sound
Jacques Kuba Séguin wanted to rediscover the sound of the Mikrokosmos EP he recorded in Norway. He has invited Norwegian engineer Vidar Lunden to work at Studio Piccolo in Montreal on this new work, which has been available in digital format since yesterday. He accepted.
“I was totally amazed by the sound he was looking for and the recording techniques in Oslo. That’s what I wanted to sound like and I’m happy with the result. We hear the fjords and the sounds that shaped the jazz sound of northern Europe,” said the trumpeter.
Jacques Kuba Séguin is accompanied by a big band in the second part. An opus that addresses love, first encounters, disappointments and adulthood with the arrival of children.
In the third and last part, recorded in 2024, the trumpeter of Polish origin approaches old age with a symphonic ensemble.