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BREAKING BEBOP BARRIERS
Olivier Bou makes his latest jazz
CD in French
11/16/01
By Keith Spera
Music writer/The Times-Picayune
When French saxophonist and vocalist Olivier Bou landed in New Orleans
in the early 1990s, he immediately faced an unanticipated language barrier.
"The English I had learned in France is not the one that is spoken
here," Bou recalled, "and I didn't know how to pronounce French
words that were used here."
On his new CD, "Boo-Shah-O-Ray," Olivier remakes local jazz
guitarist Steve Masakowski's "Burgundy." "Burgundy"
appeared as an instrumental on a Masakowski solo album and Astral Project's
"Elevado." For the version on "Boo-Shah-O-Ray,"
Bou composed semi-autobiographical lyrics about a Frenchman who arrives
in New Orleans only to discover that he is incomprehensible to the inhabitants
of this former French colony, and vice-versa.
He has since overcome the language barrier. On his 1996 debut, "A
Moment of Peace," Bou sings in English. But on "Boo-Shah-O-Ray,"
he returns to French lyrics on a diverse program of bebop-inspired original
compositions and adaptations of standards. His ensemble also renders
the Spanish-tinged instrumental "Kate's Tipsy Tango" and the
lush "Georgina."
Bebop and French are strange bedfellows. Bou wanted to develop a repertoire
of French songs for his frequent gigs in Canada and France. For inspiration,
he looked to 1960s French group the Double-Six, which, under the stewardship
of producer Quincy Jones, did vocalese versions of Charlie Parker solos;
the vocalist Claude Nougaro, who wrote French lyrics for "Round
Midnight" and other jazz standards; and singer Charles Trenet,
who in the 1940s became one of the first French pop singers to manipulate
the sound of language as a jazz singer might.
"I wanted to fit my work," Bou said, "into some kind
of tradition of people that experimented with jazz and French vocals."
Bou assembled a stellar cast of local players, arrayed in three different
configurations, to aid in the creation of "Boo-Shah-O-Ray."
They include Masakowski, pianists Jonathan Lefcoski and Matt Lemmler,
organist Charlie Dennard, and Canadian drummer John Fraboni. Trumpeter
Nicholas Payton -- identified, for contractual reasons, as Nick "Knacks"
in the liner notes -- appears on two cuts, and Galactic drummer Stanton
Moore powers three. Guitarist Brian Seeger produced the album and plays
on three tracks. Bou contributes tenor and baritone sax, as well as
the French vocals.
"I was curious about whether this would sound really strange to
American audiences," Bou said. "French people do not listen
to music the same way as American people. French people have a tendency
to let their interest for the lyrics overrule their concentration on
the actual music sometimes.
"My great question is, I do not have American ears, even though
I've lived here a long time. It's difficult for me to put myself in
the shoes of somebody who listens to this without knowing the sound
of the language nor the meaning. I'm wondering if it's the same as me
hearing pop music sung in Chinese. Sometimes it's a little funny."
Though it may be lost on English-speaking listeners, humor plays a significant
role on "Boo-Shah-O-Ray." In an attempt to mimic the rhythm
of scatting, Bou purposely overloaded the lyrics of the humorous girl-meets-guy
saga "Deborah" with the letter "b"; the first rapid-fire
line contains five "b" sounds.
"Allemandes Ameres" chronicles a guy serving drinks at a fancy
resort, encountering well-to-do women from around the globe. The narrative
allows Bou to toy with wordplay once again, in this case assigning each
nationality a similar-sounding trait, as in "curious Koreans"
or "d'accostables Costa-Ricans" or "irascible Iranians."
It's all very light, very cute, very French.
"French listeners really respond to this one and the craftiness
of it," Bou said. "I'm trying to make the lyric, if there
weren't any music and you were just reading it, then it would still
be musical. It's not going to change the face of the world, it's not
politically involved or anything. It's just cute."
On "A Moment of Peace," he recorded the Duke Pearson composition
"Si tu vois Jeannine" in English. On "Boo-Shah-O-Ray,"
he reprises it in French, with new lyrics. "La regle du Je,"
written by Jimmy Giuffre as "Four Brothers" and intended as
a workout for four saxophonists, afforded Bou the opportunity to sing
an uptempo bebop number.
The instrumental "Georgina" is named for his bilingual daughter,
Georgia. That she will one day be able to appreciate the humor of her
father's French wordplay -- and translate it into English -- gives him
great satisfaction.
"The whole record is dedicated to her," Bou said. "I'm
hoping that when she's old enough she can read the lyrics and laugh.
I had her in mind as a recipient of this music."
Wednesday at Snug Harbor with drummer Mark DiFlorio, bassist Tommy Sciple,
guitarist Brian Seeger and pianist Matt Lemmler.
Keith Spera, The Times Picayune (11/16/01)
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