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ABOUT

Les Contes d’Alfonsina is

a light, fast locomotive

with a fine aesthetic.

Lyrics run quickly on rhythms and harmonies mixing a delicate melancholy with the energy of the gypsy manouche.

Les Contes d’Alfonsina proposes a gitan music inspired by the manouche tradition and it is marked by a modern research in rhythm and harmony, contemporary atmospheres and an exotic touch

 

The Quartet explores relations between voices in balance with the guitar, searching for a personal sound and a hybrid identity

 

Every track is a narrative frame and a music experiment mixing Jazz, Gypsy Jazz, World Music and Chanson d'Auteur 

Les Contes d'Alfonsina is a light locomotive carrying the cultural heritage of the four musicians and introducing unusual choices for traditional Gypsy Jazz

The ingredients are: a fine aesthetic in composition and arrangements, a strong emphasis on interpretation and, we must not forget, improvisation

The Quartet recorded his first album at the famous Igloo Studio of Brussels. The album was released for the Italian jazz label Dodicilune Records in July 2020

The Quartet have been performing regularly on the European scene since 2018. The main concerts are: Paris-Prague Jazz Club (Paris), RMNO Sinti Festival (Ulm), The Music Village (Brussels), Art Base (Brussels), Valdarno Jazz Festival (Arezzo), SEI Festival (Lecce), Bruxelles Sur Scene (Brusels), Brussels Jazz Week (Brussels), Italian Jazz Festival (Brussels),...

The musicians are:

 

Sofia ROMANO – Vocals

Starting her career in theatre and writing she comes to music after falling in love with gypsy jazz. As vocalist and author of the jazz quintet Sidewalk Cat she won several Jazz European Awards; the New Italian Jazz Generation in 2017 and 2018; and she performed in the biggest Italian jazz festivals. In 2018, after moving to Paris she founded Les Contes d'Alfonsina which became the meeting point of her artistic baggage and personal experience by mixing her love for tales and her passion for the Gypsy jazz univers. The project is strongly marked by her deep investigation in interpretation and an exotic impression in singing. She is one of the finalists of the prestigious jazz vocal contest Chicco Bettinardi Jazz Award 2019.

Hugo PROY – Clarinet

He started his studies in classical clarinet at the age of 7 at the Paris Conservatory. His early and brilliant carrer is marked by the first price at the International Contest of Picardie in 2009 and at the International Contest Leopold Ballan in 2013. After he graduated with honors, he discovers the Gypsy Jazz and World Music scene in Paris. He soon become a lead musician in the french capital by multiplying collaborations and performances. He performed in the biggest venues in Paris as Le Bataclan, Sunset Sunside, New Morning, Le Caveau de la Huchette and in big festivals like Jazz in Marciac. He joined Les Cone d'Alfonsina in 2018 bringing his virtuous and eclectic style, and his sensibility in arrangements and improvisation.

Frédéric GAIRARD – Violin

​Coming from a family of artists from the south of France, he's a young Talent of the Brussels Conservatory. After his early studies in classical music, he developed an interest in traditional gypsies musique like jazz manouche and Romanian tzigane music that brought him to spend some period in Rumania. He soon become protagonist of the manouche and tzigane music scene in Brussels and in the South of France collaborating with many artists like Michel Ramba and Nicolas Hauzer and different projects like The Swing Sons, Fred and Son Frère, Triven, Lauriel trio et Les Tchayok. He joined Les Contes d'Alfonsina in 2019 bringing his tzigane feeling in composition and improvisation and his love for the gypsy universe. 

Marco PAPADIA – Guitar

Guitarist, Composer and Arranger, he is the band leader of the jazz quintet Sidewalk Cat. He won the Tuscia in Jazz European Award in 2016, and the Nicola Arigliano Jazz Festival the same year. He is the finalist of the Fara Music Festival 2016 and he received the prize New Italian Jazz Generation in 2017 and 2018. He produced his first album of compositions in 2018 "Sidewalk Cat - Unfit" (Emme Record Label). As band leader, he performed in the biggest Italian Jazz Festivals like Padova Jazz Festival, Barga in Jazz, Empoli Jazz Festival, Sile in Jazz, Novara Jazz Festival, etc. He joined Les Contes d'Alfonsina in 2017 bringing his talent in writing music, his love for modern Jazz and orchestral relations between instruments. 

Ⓡ Les Contes d'Alfonsina

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