Artist: Renaud Garcia-Fons
Genre: French double bassist presenting his modern take on Andalusian cante jondo and Maqam.
Live concerts: on 28 and 29 June 2024 in Anstruther, Scotland, as part of the 20th iteration of the East Neuk Festival, a boutique annual international music and arts festival.
Photos courtesy of East Neuk Fest’s official photographer, Neil Hanna.
Review by Fiona Mactaggart
Last weekend master double bass player and composer Renaud Garcia-Fons – swooped into this charming and historically rich corner of Scotland, to present two superb shows of his passionate and boundary-traversing music.
Garcia-Fons, a Parisien born to Catalan parents, is renowned as a prolific composer and virtuoso on his adapted 5-string double bass. From a classical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, he soon expanded his musical explorations into jazz and world music, over the years performing besides the likes of drummer Kenny Clarke, guitarist Nguyên Lê, and avant-garde tubist Michel Godard. Nowadays his compositions acknowledge all these musical genres, probably especially Andalusian cante jondo and Maqam, although this listener also hears echoes of Niccolò Paganini.
As the slow dusk fell last Friday evening, Garcia-Fons delivered the first of two performances: a 75-minute solo set that turned out to be a masterclass in creativity, held in Anstruther’s (pronounce Ane-ster) Erskine Hall. Accompanied by pre-recorded loops of his own double bass, he showcased his exceptional command of the instrument, combining extended technique with the rhythmic sensibility and improvisation chops of a jazz musician.
Nine, song-like tunes were performed, the opening one notably being about “one of my most favourite places,” a priory in Catalonia. His bow often bouncing high off the strings, he demonstrated the first of a range of unusual techniques. Many of the pieces had a flamenco and song or dancelike feel, suggesting an especially deep relationship with the Andalusian cante jondo tradition.
Helpfully offering short explanations before each tune, Garcia-Fons took the audience on a musical tour, sharing in his take on roots music from Galicia, Palermo, India, Burundi, Iran, Brittany, Scotland and from the Kurdish tradition.
One piece mirrored the geographical passage of the music as it evolved through Indian raga, to Andalucian forms, to Bolero.
Meanwhile, the self-recorded backing tracks were subtly effective, adding rhythm and texture, some evoking the clacking heels of a flamenco dancer. Further richness resulted from a range of extended techniques including his weaving tissue paper through the bass’ strings to simulate the sound of a Burundian chordophone instrument. Passionate, lyrical and with astonishing musicianship, the solo set was a stunning display.
The following afternoon at Anstruther Town Hall, Garcia-Fons presented live his latest album Luna De Seda (Silk Moon). This time in quartet, there was continuing evidence of a deep respect for the musical traditions, which however didn’t stop the music exploring (often exploding) in exhilarating new trajectories.
Whilst purists may wonder about such a wide variety of musical genres on the bill, Garcia-Fons’ infectious energy, his clear delight in sharing his musical searching, the singing lyricism of his compositions and most of all, his exceptional musicianship must surely banish any quibbles. At the concert end it came as no surprise to see the Luna De Seda CDs sell out in mere minutes.
Renaud Garcia-Fons – 5-string double bass; Serkan Halili – qanun; Kiko Ruiz – flamenco guitar; Derya Turkan – kemenche;
Fiona Mactaggart lives in Edinburgh and writes about music on Scottishjazzspace.co.uk
