The repertoire in this jubilant work draws upon new sources. One track evokes Chet Baker, another is a salute to Henri Salvador, not forgetting a tribute to the piano bars of grand hotels and a piece in the form of an African postcard. Of particular note are two delightful adaptations, in French no less: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, which brings to mind Django Reinhardt, and Paul Desmond's Take Five, inspired by Richard Anthony's French version, as well as two songs with lyrics written by the new member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Emmanuel Guibert.
Several common threads run through these Crimes, which can be listened to as a series of luminous little pastel sketches. First, there is a whiff of eternity, along with an elegant way of making all this music from the past so contemporary, a combination that refuses to be labelled. There are also strolls through a Paris that would be familiar to Patrick Modiano, passing through the Jardin des Plantes, the banks of the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Porte d'Orléans, with stops at checked-tablecloth bistros or a Belleville Chinese restaurant, and a bonus side-trip to Chatou…Then the accordion is finally granted its rightful place, thanks to a group of virtuosos from different backgrounds: Raúl Barboza, Daniel Mille, Daniel Colin, Grégory Veux, Christophe Lampidecchia, Francis Varis, and Seppe Vande Walle —all play their part in restoring the instrument to its former glory.
Les Crimes du Musette is also a gold mine for scholars, a veritable treasure trove in which we find, among authors, composers and inspirers, in addition to the great names already mentioned, Pierre Barouh and Allain Leprest, Juliette Gréco and François Truffaut, Jerome Kern and Tino Rossi, Paul Verlaine and Gino Bordin, Christophe and Joséphine Baker, Johnny Mercer and Ernst Lubitsch, Sanseverino and Alain Jean-Marie, Vincent Segal, Jean-Jacques Milteau, Fats Waller and Gunther Schuller, Glenn Miller… The same is true of the instruments: bendir, clavietta, marimba, musical saw, đàn bầu, Hawaiian guitar, theremin, ukulele, sanshin, woodblock and castanets all contribute to the success of an album that is synonymous with lost and rediscovered happiness.
"Young people have fire, but the old have light," smiles Dominique Cravic, quoting a customer at Le Bon Coin bar in his hometown of Dreux. He goes on: "This is an album by old guys, and we're proud of it. Colin, Barboza, Milteau, Huck, Crumb, me – we're all past 70."
Pascal Bussy (traduction Roger Surridge)