Andy Milne and Benoit Delbecq: "A multichannel production in jazz: sensorial and technical interaction between composing, playing, recording, mixing"

ABSTRACT:

Andy Milne, Benoît Delbecq and Amandine Pras will discuss their experiences during the production of "Where is Pannonica?" (Banff Centre, 2008). They will discuss how they explored the relationship between art and audio technology to uncover new paths of expression and new dimensions in recording. This ambitious project has been hailed by critics and demonstrates a close interaction between composition, improvisation, the sonic potential of the piano (sometimes prepared), acoustics, recording, mixing and mastering for a both stereo and 5.0 multichannel. The CD was released on Vancouver-based Songlines Recordings in June 2009.

ABOUT ANDY MILNE AND BENOIT DELBECQ:

Canadian pianist and composer Andy Milne is considered one of the most distinctive voices at the heart of New York's creative jazz scene, performing throughout the world in a range of settings, including collaborations with: Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, Carlos Ward, Carla Cook, Sekou Sundiata, Avery Brooks, Ralph Alessi, Cassandra Wilson, and Sonny Greenwich. Milne’s genre-breaking band Dapp Theory is helping to re-draw and extend the boundaries of jazz.

Described by The New York Times as "brilliant and unconventional", Parisian pianist and composer Benoît Delbecq is acclaimed as one of France’s indispensable pianists. He has been involved in numerous collaborations with French musicians, visual artists and poets, and with North American, European and African musicians. He has forged a personal style by drawing from jazz, ambient, contemporary classical and non-western music. Jazz Times calls him "one of the avatars of prepared piano" for the way he creates unusual harmonies, colours and phrases. He leads several projects, (including Kartet, Delbecq 5, The Recyclers, Ambitronix, PianoBook), which perform throughout Europe and North America.

Andy Milne and Benoît Delbecq met in 1990 at the Banff Jazz Workshop, when Steve Coleman was its artistic director. Their 2008 recording has been made possible with the help from Chamber Music America. It has been produced by Amandine Pras for Songlines recording.