By Monique Y. Wells
On 17 December 2019, the Café de la Danse theater in Paris’s Bastille district was transformed into a magical space where the Paris Jazz Repertory Septet (PJR7) and singer Joseph Langley invited the public to focus on climate change through the lens of jazz.
© Entrée to Black Paris
Pianist/trombonist Joe Makholm of PJR7 is the composer of Concert Climat, a musical trilogy dedicated to this environmental crisis. After reading three books on the topic – This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, Eaarth by Bill McKibben, and Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen – Makholm set about adapting them into music. Read his account of how he approached this by clicking HERE.
© Entrée to Black Paris
After Makholm finished the first two parts of the trilogy, the septet performed them at the Sunside/Sunset jazz club in Paris on December 1, 2015. Makholm completed the third part of the trilogy a few months later and PJR7 performed the entire trilogy on May 29, 2016 in a 4-hour concert at the 45° Jazz Club in Paris’ 10th arrondissement.
For the December 17 concert, the septet regaled a practically full house by performing This Changes Everything, the second suite of the trilogy, in its entirety for the first time since a January 2017 rendition at the Sunside. It is composed of five sections: “The Extractivists: Hot Money – Laughing at the Science”; “Blocadia”; “In the Sacrifice Zones”; “Magical Thinking”; and “Extraction to Renewal.”
After the intermission, the septet performed excerpts from Eaarth, the first suite, and Storms of My Grandchildren, the third suite.
Makholm conducted the group from the piano bench as he played, just as Duke Ellington used to direct his orchestra.
Each member of the group had the opportunity to showcase his unique talent.
From lower left to upper right: Joe Makholm (conductor and pianist), Philippe Nadaud (alto and soprano saxophone), Pascal Baselli (drums), Stéphane Renard (bass), Claudio Pallaro (tenor and soprano saxophone), Jean-Christophe Vilain (trombone), and Franck Delpeut (trumpet)
Photos © Entrée to Black Paris
Vocalist Joseph Langley closed each set with a song – “Breaking the Rules” for This Changes Everything and “Leave It in the Ground” for Storms of My Grandchildren.
© Entrée to Black Paris
It was an extraordinary evening!
The recording of the full Concert Climat trilogy is available in a 3-CD box set. For information, contact Joe Makholm at contact@concertclimat.com.
Listen to Makholm’s World Radio Paris interview about the December 17 concert HERE.
