With imagination, cunning and life

As the child of two classical musicians, Marc Perrenoud grew up in a world full of sound. He began improvising on the piano at home at the age of six and was soon sent to music lessons. He later became fascinated by the Beatles and Bach, but also by blues and jazz and pianists such as Scott Joplin and Oscar Peterson. He graduated from the Ecole de Jazz in Lausanne in 2005. Two years earlier, he had already won the Chrysler Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival. It was only then that the Geneva native was certain that he wanted to pursue a career as a musician.

Meanwhile, he has been active for nine years with his Marc Perrenoud Trio, which also includes drummer Cyril Regamey and bassist Marco Müller. The formation will be releasing its fourth album in the coming weeks, Nature Boy, will be released. But before that, the 35-year-old wanted to realize a long-cherished dream: his solo debut. It was released in June and is called Hamra - which means "red" in Arabic. However, the title also refers to the Beirut neighborhood of the same name. The son of a Dutch woman and a Swiss man spent several months in the Lebanese capital, where his curiosity for the culture of the Middle East was awakened. Nevertheless, the record focuses mainly on the musical traditions of the West.

While the impressionist Conversation With Nino with the film composer Nino Rota (1911-1979), is dedicated to the film composer Quintes the piano exercises: The artist soon no longer cares a jot about strict discipline and instead rolls over the keys in a fresh, cheeky and energetic manner. Perrenoud demonstrates both daring and the art of improvisation in his songs. The work begins with All The Things You Are, which plays with rhythmic structures emanating from the drums, and ends with the equally melancholic and melodious Le roi et l'oiseau from the pen of Wojciech Kilar. In between is a stretch of songs that is not only poetic and virtuosic, but also varied and graceful. Perrenoud has succeeded in filling his solo piano sound with imagination, cunning and life.