Building a style he describes as “reckless abandon,” Bailhé explores ideas through music and narrative dance. The scenario for Shiva in flagrante tells the tale of a Harley- Davidson-riding Shiva falling in love, mating with the goddess Parvati, and the birth of their child in the final track titled “The Facts of Creation.” “That story had to be told in Jazz,” says Bailhé.
A distinctive new voice in instrumental music, Jacques Bailhé unleashes fiery passion and spellbinding narrative that stuns audiences with rhythm and melody woven with sophisticated harmony and counterpoint. “I don’t understand why so many composers seem to abandon melody. Isn’t it probably the most powerful aspect of music?” he asks. “I don’t think much in chords. I seem to work from independent melodic lines in the tradition of contrapuntal style.” His musical inspirations come from early Weather Report and Miles Davis, Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, Hiromi, ethnic artists like Ravi Shankar and Zap Mama, and others like Hendrix, The Beatles, and producers and engineers like Al Smith, George Martin, and Geoff Emerick, quickly pointing out that “engineering is the yin of the yang. But studying scores, especially by Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Berg, John Adams, Gil Evans, and Miles was a revelation. They make it look so simple.”
Stream multi-instrumentalist Jacques Bailhé’s new album, Shiva in Flagrante on the artist’s official music platforms and follow him on social media for updates on his upcoming release due this fall will, also focused on music for dance. And BTW, he’s always on the lookout for choreographers for collaboration. Reach out through the artist’s email to connect.
You can stream on Spotify below,
