Cello Project William Brunard

• 1 Blue Lou 02:22
• 2 My Blue Heaven 03:01
• 3 Time After Time 03:39
• 4 Stranger in Paradise 03:50
• 5 Blues for Ike 05:48
• 6 Indiana 02:25
• 7 Lotus Blossom 03:50
• 8 Love Me or Leave Me 04:21
• 9 Whispering 02:25
• 10 Wolfy 02:28
• 11 We Never See Each Other 02:57
• 12 My Melancholy Baby 02:34
• 13 El Capuz de la Noche 03:56
• 14 Will Swing 03:32
• 15 Aquellos Ojos Verdes 03:12
• 16 Cauchemar 03:20
• 17 El Cant dels Ocels 04:06
• 18 Le Cygne 03:29
• Total Runtime 01:01:15

Info for Cello Project

William Brunard's new album, a mix of "back to basics" and homage to his peers, features the swing cello!

Some of the most famous double bassists in the history of jazz (Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, etc.) were, at various points in their careers, cello enthusiasts. Like his illustrious predecessor Ron Carter, William Brunard himself began playing this instrument, which he studied at the Conservatoire before becoming known as a double bassist. The artist therefore invites us to a kind of return to basics with this Cello Project.

While many of his colleagues today readily cultivate the chamber side of the instrument, William was keen to frame his project within a "swing" context. While sharing solos with six-string expert Fanou Torracinta, he has summoned an appropriate rhythm section to do this: guitar (Benji Winterstein, sometimes assisted by his father Popots), double bass (Alex Gilson), supported on half of the tracks by Jonathan Gomis' drums. Marked by the influence of Django Reinhardt (Blue Lou, Blues for Ike, Cauchemar...), the aesthetic palette here evolves "between swing and bop", as evidenced by the quotes from Donna Lee in Indiana or the cello chorus on Will Swing, a demarcation of Cherokee. However, William doesn't hold back from drawing on other sources, not without success: Billy Strayhorn (Lotus Blossom), Nat King Cole (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)... With El Capuz de la Noche, which irresistibly evokes the minor themes of the gypsy tradition, William pays doubly homage to his great-grandfather Lucien Cardinale, trombonist, pianist, and conductor—who dreamed of becoming a cellist—by covering one of his melodies and fulfilling his grandfather's dream.

For those in the know, William tunes his instrument in fourths, like the double bass, following the example of Oscar Pettiford, master of pizzicati solos, to whom he gives a pointed nod in "We Never See Each Other," performed with only the double bass and drums. This doesn't stop him, at the end of the journey, from giving a swinging version of Saint-Saëns's The Swan, an anthology piece traditionally devoted to the cello. "Cello" to the end!

William Brunard, double bass

William Brunard
Double bass player William Brunard was born in 1990 in St Ouen. After classical studies of piano and cello, he turned to the guitar accompanying artists like Tchavolo Schmitt. In 2009 he started to play the double bass which will soon become his favorite instrument, opening doors to the biggest venues alongside musicians such as Patrick Saussois, Angelo Debarre, Christian Escoudé, Stochelo Rosenberg, Didier Lockwood, Noah Reihnardt and today Biréli Lagrène. You currently tours with: William Brunard (Will meets Django), Bireli Lagrene (Gipsy Project), Angelo Debarre (Gipsy Unity), Stochelo Rosenberg & Friends, Steeve Laffont Trio, Corsican Quartet, Gwen Cahue Trio and the Kamlo Barré & William Brunard Trio.

This album contains no booklet.