Caravan Party

« Laissez-vous emporter par la magie de vos charmes.
Vous êtes à mes côtés, ici, sous le bleu,
Mon rêve d'amour devient réalité dans notre caravane du désert. »

Lyrics by Irving Mills for Caravan

The beautiful Persian etymology of the word "Caravan" goes back to the d awn of time, embracing the ideas of nomadic travel and of mutual aid.

Drawing on this unforgettable poetry and inspired by the legendary song of the same name by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington, Caravan Party invokes friendship through music, the miracle of which is always present at the Bal Blomet, one of the oldest jazz clubs in Europe.

A regular resident of this historic venue which opened its doors in 1924, Johan Farjot has brought together on this disc a good number of his comrades from the series he hosts there (alongside saxophonist Raphaël Imbert), the '1001 Nuits du jazz', with unheard-of combinations and unexpected collaborations between artists.

This choral festival, arranged and directed from the piano by Johan Farjot, brings together an original playlist, with pride of place given to the masterpieces of the great female composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, but also to the great standards, that have their place in our collective unconscious, sometimes facing in the direction of pop.

Let us embark on a crazy journey in a caravan!

 Reviews on... -> Jazz Magazine - CHOC Jazz Magazine - L'Alsace - Froggy's delight - Le Canard enchainé - Jazz News

France Musique/Open Jazz - France Musique/Open Jazz (2) - FIP/Club Jazzafip - France Musique/Banzzaï - Radio Canada

1.    Brother can you spare a dime - Jay Gorney (music) & Yip Harburg (lyrics)
2.    Woodstock - Joni Mitchell
3.    Ode to Sainte Cécile - Mary Lou Williams
4.    If you knew - Nina Simone
5.    Jesus Maria - Carla Bley
6.    Blues for Angels - Johan Farjot, In memoriam Didier Lockwood
7.    Black trombone - Serge Gainsbourg
8.    Caravan - Duke Ellington / Juan Tizol (musique) & Irving Mills (lyrics)
9.    Free Ballad - improvisation
10.    Journey in Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane (arr. Raphaël Imbert)
11.    Baby Man - John Stubblefield
12.    Gee Baby, ain't I good to you - Don Redman (music) & Andy Razaf (lyrics)
13.    Gotham Lullaby - Meredith Monk
14.    Prends Courage, oh ! - Moune de Rivel
15.    Black is the color of my true love’s hair - Traditionnel

Johan Farjot - piano, direction and arrangement

Ensemble Saxo Voce (2,4,5,6,8,10,11,13,14)
Julie Saury (1,2,3,5,6,7,8,10,12,14,15) et Joe Quitzke (9) - drums
Felipe Cabrera (1,2,5,7,10,12,14,15) et Laure Sanchez (3,6,8) - double bass
Hugo Lippi - guitar (3)
Marion Rampal (2,7), Inès Matady (4), Hugh Coltman (1,8,15),
Rosemary Standley (5) et Aude Publes Garcia (14) - voice
Ronald Baker - voice/trumpet (12), Louis Sclavis - clarinet (9)
Raphaël Imbert (3,4,6,9,10), Vincent Lê-Quang (2,5),
Baptiste Herbin (8), Jeanne Michard (14) - saxophone
Fidel Fourneyron - trombone (1,7), Humayoun Ibrahimi - tablas (10)
Dan Tepfer - piano (11), Arnaud Thorette - viola (13)