All My Life, A Musical Tribute to Woody Allen Laurent Courthaliac

• 1 He Loves and She Loves 04:08
• 2 Strike Up the Band 02:56
• 3 All My Life 04:33
• 4 Ev'ryone Says 'I Love You' 05:06
• 5 Looking at You 02:24
• 6 But Not For Me 05:33
• 7 You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me 03:51
• 8 I've Got a Crush on You 04:47
• 9 Just You, Just Me 05:23
• 10 Embraceable You 05:18
• Total Runtime 43:59

Info for All My Life, A Musical Tribute to Woody Allen

After having released two albums in a trio format and one album of standards with Elizabeth Kontomanou, Laurent Courthaliac envisioned this recording in a more orchestral shape. He placed his piano at the center of an eight-piece orchestra, an ideal configuration to combine precise arrangements with the soloists’ inspiration, in order to bring to each chart the swing and the energy of improvisation.

Relying on an impressive line-up of bebop musicians from Paris and New York, Laurent Courthaliac remodels the story of his love for cinema, setting up a musical scene for well-known and overlooked melodies.

Narrating once again his love for Bud Powell and Duke Ellington, Laurent Courthaliac’s piano stands out of these subtly orchestrated sceneries with both assertiveness and elegance.

Fabien Mary, trumpet
Bastien Ballaz, trombone
Dmitry Baevsky, alto saxophone
David Sauzay, tenor saxophone
Xavier Richardeau, baritone saxophone
Laurent Courthaliac, piano
Clovis Nicolas, double bass
Pete Van Nostrand, drums
Jon Boutellier (Amazing Keystone Big Band)

Laurent Courthaliac
is without a doubt “the” most accomplished scholar among French musicians regarding the language of be-bop, the foundation of all modern jazz. As one can read in magazine Telerama, “Laurent Courthaliac has assimilated be-bop, he possesses its (difficule) language and all of its demanding musicality.”

Indeed, there are not many musicians that devote themselves to such a difficult art form, which requires both a very sophisticated harmonic language and a merciless sense of swing. “Barloyd,” his nickname in the jazz world, is among these rare experts.

In 2008, the pianist appeared on Brewin’ the Blues (Plus Loin Music), recorded as a duo with singer Elisabeth Kontomanou, in which he displays not only his beautiful knowledge of the American Songbook, but also his talents as an accompanist worthy of his idols, pianists Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones. More recently, he released a tribute album to baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, muse of beboppers, featuring the legendary Ron Carter on bass.

“Laurent Courthaliac knows how to instill poetry and beauty into the jazz tradition, which he masters to perfection.” (Yaron Herman)

“Laurent is one of the rare pianists who absorbed bebop language and uses it as foundation to develop his pianistic expression. Therefore follows a style where all phrases make sense and posses their own eloquence.” (Jacky Terrasson)

Booklet for All My Life, A Musical Tribute to Woody Allen