In his latest album, "Oriental Blue," Samuel Bonnet traces a singular path to the confluence of writing and improvised color and sound, from East to West. The "Blue Notes" of Jazz flirt here with the oriental "melisms," memories of his native Israel mingle with the scents of Andalusia, and Jewish scales combine with North African rhythms.

To achieve this project, Samuel called an old friend, French saxophonist Mathias Wallerand, whose Lebanese-Armenian roots are reflected in the subtleties in his playing, fed by jazz and contemporary music. Together, they explore all the resources and dynamics of their respective instruments, weaving an unusual and authentic dialogue where the dimension of sound reigns.

But "Oriental Blue" is also a color, sometimes called ultramarine: a rare pigment extracted from Lapis-Lazuli stone. This deep and powerful blue has been prized for millennia by the craftsmen of ancient Egypt and the great Renaissance painters. Legends even lend it the power of a symbol of peace and serenity!

Samuel Bonnet regularly performs in America, Europe and the Middle East with different projects (Ensemble Tessala, Samuel Bonnet Quartet, etc.). In 2014, he released an acclaimed album, "DiaspoRapsodie", which enabled him to win a Vision Diversité / Place des Arts favorite prize in 2015, and be selected as a finalist for the TD Jazz Grand Prize at the International Jazz Festival of Montreal in 2016.


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"What a pleasure it is to discover guitarist and composer Samuel Bonnet."
- Christophe Rodriguez, sortiesjazznights.com

"Some of his solo works sound like explorative improvisations, others sound like pristine and carefully crafted compositions [...] The common thread amongst all of this is a virtuosic skill which enables completely authentic communication; when you listen to Bonnet, there’s no mistaking who you are listening to, or what he’s saying to you."
- Bob Ben, thewholenote.com

"A brilliant guitarist and composer."
- Elias Levy, Canadian Jewish News