Bodies & Ideas Léon Phal

• 1 Walk and Swing 04:41
• 2 Les Vacances 04:26
• 3 Gimme a Smile 03:24
• 4 Murmulea 05:40
• 5 Imutat 03:16
• 6 Love Beats Hate 05:21
• 7 Pleine Forêt 03:39
• 8 Bless The Mad 04:27
• 9 UK Rain 04:26
• 10 Past Dinner Time 03:27
• Total Runtime 42:47

Info for Bodies & Ideas

With "Bodies & Ideas", his fourth album, he builds on the momentum established with *Stress Killer*, which was widely acclaimed upon its release and showcased at over a hundred concerts in France and abroad.

On stage, the band – comprising Gauthier Toux (keyboards), Zacharie Ksyk (trumpet), Rémi Bouyssière (bass) and Arthur Alard (drums) – plays with tight, synchronised precision and a genuine collective intensity. The sound is warm and organic, the groove is constant, and the concert quickly draws you in. It is a live performance that is both captivating and danceable, recognised for its impact by audiences and industry professionals alike.

With "Bodies & Ideas", the project also explores new musical directions on record, notably through collaborations with the Italian singer Fabiana Martone (Nu Genea) and the rapper Jungle Jack.

A year after "Stress Killer", saxophonist Léon Phal, now signed to Sony Masterworks, has been playing a string of concerts and has released "No Pain / No Champagne", a distinctive EP in an already substantial discography. A leading figure in a futuristic jazz movement born out of the effervescence of the 2010s, the Champagne-born artist here moves away from the ultra-modern sound of his previous releases to infuse his jazz with a vintage palette inherited from Ahmad Jamal or the Headhunters – an almost mythical era whose grooves he freely reimagines. And throughout it all, he seeks out the quirkiness, the gimmick that catches the ear and sends jazz off on a tangent – in this case, towards edgy hip-hop, soulful lyricism and gritty house music.

Léon Phal, saxophone
Gauthier Toux, keyboards
Zacharie Ksyk, trumpet
Rémi Bouyssière, bass
Arthur Alard, drums

Léon Phal
Very promising saxophonist, Léon Phal is part of this young generation of jazz musicians who have been brought up with classics. He found his own style while paying tribute to them, whether it be Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor or D’Angelo’s “Voodoo”. Surrounded by his lifelong gang, his mastery of the instrument, his incredible sense of melody, the delicacy of his compositions and his devastating groove, all show a bright future for this Franco-Swiss native of Champagne.

Winner of the Nancy Jazz Pulsations and Jazz à Vienne in 2019, Léon Phal has released a second opus, “Dust to Stars”, in April 2021. Our opportunity to explore the music that kept him up at night between house, drum’n’bass and afrobeat. A real dance machine with a soul. His music is a fight between acoustic and electronic, jazz fervour and dancefloor fever, dreamy escapes and meticulous beats, resulting in a symbiosis between contagious energy and rare elegance. His album was very well received by the press and professionals alike, which he presented last summer on prestigious stages such as La Défense Jazz, Jazz à Vienne, Nancy Jazz Pulsations, Jazz à Sète, Jazz in Juan, Cosmo Jazz, Tourcoing Jazz…

In the wait for his next album planned for spring 2023, Léon is currently producing numerous collaborations (Emile Londonien, Louis Matute, Bandit Voyage & Lee Scratch Perry) and preparing the release of new singles.

Leon Phal has been raised between jazz and club culture, in the wake of Herbie Hancock's trilogy from the 80's or Electro producer Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra” - Star Wax

Léon Phal's musicians incorporates drum n'bass references straight into their hard bop" - Télérama

Léon Phal, the french rising sax” - Le Monde

Booklet for Bodies & Ideas