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Paris Combo.
This year's Adelaide Cabaret Festival looks set to be a fantastic chance to get out and catch a variety of internationally renown musical performers, including the remarkable French outfit, Paris Combo, who bring their own special blend of lively jazz to The Festival Theatre Stage.
It's been two years since Paris Combo played in Adelaide, and trumpet player David Lewis is excited about the chance to play in a different environment this time. "I must say the fact that we will be playing in the theatre for five days in a row is something of an exceptional event," says Lewis. "This is very unusual, because most often we only get to play one night in a venue, and that's a little bit frustrating sometimes, doing those one night stands."
Given that Paris Combo are playing over five nights, I'm curious whether that kind of freedom adds room for more improvisation and adaptation in their set over their festival residency.
"Oh definitely," concurs Lewis. "There's always quite a lot of musical improvisation in our songs, and Belle [du Berry, singer]'s repartee is very different each night depending on the audience, but I think settling into a venue makes you even more comfortable with that. Also, I think there's a difference between playing in a very big hall and playing to a more intimate setting. In Adelaide the audience will be less than five hundred per night, so that's quite an intimate setting for us, so that will be good."
One of the things that makes Paris Combo such a fitting act for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival is their lively jazz-lounge sound. Although with an obvious French cabaret feel, Paris Combo have played all around the world without feeling even the slightest of language barriers whilst performing.
"I think when a song is well sung, or when the lyrics are important to the singer, even if you can't really understand the language, there is something that is being communicated," explains Lewis. "Also Belle's voice and the musical content allows people to get into the songs even if they can't understand French. Belle does introduce them in English so that the audience can get the gist of what the lyrics are talking about."
There's also something international about Paris Combo, with various band members heralding from different backgrounds. Australian trumpeter, pianist and bugle player, David Lewis came to the band eight years ago, after a period studying and working as a professional musician in France.
"I grew up in Hamilton in Western Victoria," Lewis explains of his own background. "There was a lot of music in the town schools, and from quite an early age, I thought to play music as a performer was quite important, and it always seemed like a good life to be able to go on with that...
"I originally went over to study music in Paris," Lewis continues, "but more classical music. Once I finished, I started freelancing, and I suppose that's when I started to get into jazz. I already liked jazz as a listener, but I started to play jazz a lot more, to the point where I stopped playing classical. I started playing in different bands that were touring, and my participation in Paris Combo started after meeting Belle at a cabaret show we were playing in together."
Since that time, Paris Combo have released a number of successful albums, gained an international fan base, and toured the world several times. Paris Combo's five night stay at this year's Adelaide Cabaret Festival is just one more stage in their journey, and part of a very busy year for the band.
"In a year where we've got an album coming out, such as this one, we probably do at least a hundred dates within that year," says Lewis. "We've recorded a new album, and we're mixing it right now, and it will come out in September, and in the twelve months after that we'll probably do at least a hundred concerts." David Lewis admits some people actually find it unusual that when the touring abates, the various musicians in Paris Combo are still quite close.
"I think there's an element of friendship in the group," says Lewis. "Last year we had a sort of sabbatical year when each member of the group went and did his own thing, but we always keep in contact. In fact at the moment with doing our album, a sound engineer from The 'States was astonished by the amount the group actually socialised when we weren't in the studio, because he said he was used to groups that only met up when they were working in the studio or on stage."
My interest piqued, I ask Lewis for his take on the band's dynamics. Is the closeness Paris Combo maintain strengthened by the kind of music they play? Does jazz, with a focus on improvisation, necessitate a keener knowledge of the other players, and cultivate closeness among the musicians?
"Oh definitely," affirms Lewis. "We don't consider ourselves a jazz group per se, but the way we build the songs is based on improvisation. I think that approach makes things less cut-and dried, less clinical, and obliges people to get involved at a personal level." David Lewis is most definitely still having a blast playing, recording and touring with Paris Combo.
"I find the most enjoyable part is travelling, playing away from France, when we find ourselves in unusual situations, such as playing on a stage in the Festival Theatre in Adelaide. I'm really looking forward to that actually."
Steven Hocking
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Paris Combo play The Festival Theatre Stage from Tues 22 to Sat 26 June.
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