Darius Jones Quartet & Emilie Lesbros - Le bébé de Brigitte [Lost in Translation] (2015)

Le bébé de Brigitte (Lost in Translation) is alto saxophonist-composer Darius Jones’ new album, and the 5th installment in his expansive Man’ish Boy epic. The highly acclaimed series began in 2009 with Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), and shall eventually comprise nine albums. This release arrives soundly at the mid-way point with aplomb, and is performed by the Darius Jones Quartet featuring vocalist Emilie Lesbros.

As ever with Jones’ work, the compositional palette ranges widely here. From the new blues swagger of “Universal Translator” to the equally universal sense of great loss evoked in “I Can’t Keep From Weeping” (as aching a ballad as Jones has yet written/recorded); from the infectiously swinging & (finally) unhinged cabaret dialogue that is “Chanteuse in Blue” to perhaps the deepest essence of the album (and platforms of intent) which are “Two Worlds, One Soul” & “Beneath The Skin”, a pair of extended works which evolve with the utmost in careful consideration to timing and gesture by all involved. French singer-lyricist Emilie Lesbros’ own composition, “Quand Vient la Nuit” (here arranged by Jones) closes and lyrically encapsulates the album: espousing no fear, in life, in art.

Regarding narrative underline, Le bébé de Brigitte (Lost in Translation) addresses the difficulties in clear communication due to widely varied perspectives, the hazardous confusion that can result, and the essential effort to make sense of that confusion with a full-bore aim toward a new level of understanding, toward new levels of harmony. As Jones writes, “Much of the hatred and ugliness in the world comes from everyone trying to create a unison when they should be striving to create a harmony.” This elemental friction leading to frisson was in play during the album’s creation. Jones again, “In the process of creating this music, we often fell into moments of miscommunication because of differences in culture and language. I think this created a sense of mystery, and forced all of us to listen more deeply to each other’s nuances and subtleties, because we didn’t always have words to fall back on.”

The new character in Darius Jones’ Man’ish Boy cosmology being revealed here is Brigitte, the blind & love-blind mother of D’Troy·t (himself a character whose eminent wickedness will be revealed when Jones unleashes the final album of this middle trilogy). The name of mother Brigitte is in dedication to the French singer-performance artist Brigitte Fontaine, her work and ethos of pushing artistic boundaries, on her own terms, being a clear and abiding influence on Jones’ own creative trajectory. This new character is manifest to 2D flesh on the album artwork by painter-illustrator Justin Hopkins. See more of Hopkins’ work here.

More words from Darius Jones on this project:
“True communication is the point of my music. I’m exploring communication not only as an outward expression of ideas, but an inward investigation of my own motivations and inspiration. As human beings I believe we are of one soul vibrating at different frequencies to manifest our individual realities. When we get outside our comfort zones we feel the discomfort from the unknown because we don’t know where we belong, where to step. In that lack of knowing, we actually begin to surprise ourselves. We begin to open up, and our perspective widens. We see and understand things we didn’t before. I believe that this makes us more patient and compassionate, which can break down barriers of hatred and fear. These are the ideas musically at work within this album.”

Jones’ focus on the human voice in his current work was made wholly explicit on 2014’s The Oversoul Manual, a tremendous achievement for any composer, with a luminous & full-house performance at Carnegie Hall to match. Responses from among those moved to listen & write: “Uncannily beautiful and riveting” (Will Layman, PopMatters); “Esoteric and enchanting” (Seth Coulter Walls, Time Out New York); “Absolutely striking .. downright masterful” (Steve Holtje, Culture Catch); “A contoured, formidable, signature work” (Britt Robson, JazzTimes); “Deeply affecting on both an emotional and a physical level” (Phil Freeman, The Wire); “One of the most ambitious albums made in the past decade. This simultaneously futuristic and primal work ranges from moving plainchant to mathematical counterpoint, from the most human of cries to the most alien of exhortations” (Andrey Henkin, The New York City Jazz Record).

Tracklist:

1. Two Worlds, One Soul (10:11)
2. Chanteuse in Blue (9:01)
3. Universal Translator (8:30)
4. Beneath the Skin (we are already one) (11:33)
5. I Can’t Keep From Weeping (7:00)
6. Quand Vient la Nuit (6:34)

Personnel:

Darius Jones: alto saxophone
Matt Mitchell: piano, Rhodes
Sean Conly: bass
Ches Smith: drum set, percussion
Emillie Lesbros: voice, piano on 6
Pascal Niggenkemper: bass on 6