Grand Ensemble Koa
Biographie Grand Ensemble Koa
Grand Ensemble Koa
The French jazz ensemble follows in Jack Kérouac’s, Allen Ginsberg’s and William Burroughs’ footsteps. Driven by the pulsation of the intellectual and literary movement of the « Beat Generation », the 8 virtuo- sos set to music the contrarian poets’ texts which are interpreted by the luminous voice of Caroline Sentis...
Grand Ensemble Koa is a band of musicians who play an electric and innovating jazz, which mixes jazz improvisions, a contemporary compositional technique, sophisticated grooves and electro-rock sonorities. It was initiated by the bass player and compositor Alfred Vilayleck. As they created the band the musicians founded the Collectif Koa, which enabled the musicians to share many live experiences and decisive artistic meetings.
In 2010, Grand Ensemble Koa worked on a creation inspired by Alfred Jarry’s Ubu-Roi, made of contemporary composition, satirical theatre and soundpainting. The disc « Koa- Roi » was released in 2012, and has been elected « Jazz album revelation » by Jazzman magazine in February 2013. Pascal Rozet has written about it : « A fully accomplished first opus, which strucks by its coherence. »
In 2013, in a 9 musicians formation, the band released « Ahîmsa » -new repertoire- and performed live in many venues as the Carreau du Temple in Paris. The next year, the band collaborated with the belgian collective Mäâk Spirit, and they created together « Koa Meet Mäâk ».
Nowadays, it is 1 voice and 8 instruments which transform into music the texts, poems, and message of a generation who looked for freedom, the one of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg or William Burroughs...
