Julien Ndiaye is a 35 years old Franco-Senegalese, who just released his first studio album. What strikes you when listening to and meeting the saxophonist is the maturity and light that emanates from his music. Pure traditional jazz of today.
The reference is clearly displayed and embraced; everything is said in the name chosen by this saxophonist. Julien Ndiaye is a saxophonist, and his reference is obviously John Coltrane.
He studies the master’s music, obtains his DEM in Jazz saxophone and musical training, which he achieved in the Southeast, where he is based. But Julien has other skills, and that’s what makes his music different.
In parallel with his instrument learning, the young man obtains a welding diploma. Like many children, he also dreams of flying. At the age of 14, he flies for the first time on a tandem paraglider. Twenty years later, he enters the Top 100 of the best French paraglider pilots, covering 206 kilometers and flying for 8 hours and 22 minutes.
At 19, passionate about cycling, the young man embarks on a 1200 km journey from Fréjus to Nantes. He repeats the experience at the age of 31 on the same route but adds a journey from Nantes to St Jean de Luz, covering more than 2700 km in 18 days.
The character is radiant, possessed, tenacious. One can sense an old soul within him, so it’s not surprising to learn, in the course of a conversation, that his ancestors in Senegal were marabouts. Nor is it surprising that he lived in Dakar for three years to learn Wolof, or that he works seasons in the ski resort Les Arcs as a cable car operator.
Julien has a thousand lives, and they all come to nourish his music. Eleven tracks, seven luminous compositions, respectful of traditional jazz as he is of his roots and this music. A musician grounded with his head in the clouds.
"While I was a student at the Cannes Conservatory, I began to want to explore a more personal music, inspired by the events I had experienced and the challenges I had overcome. During this pivotal period, I composed pieces such as ‘Love,’ ‘Tristesse,’ and ‘Les Alpes.’ At that time, one person, in particular, caught my eye. Cyril Galamini is a young drummer who would later become a trombonist. He already had a mature and affirmed talent. Cyril had arranged pieces for the conservatory’s big band, and we had the opportunity to play together many times. During a jam session at Duc des Lombards in 2017, we were fortunate to share the stage with Ahmad Jamal’s musicians. This moment was unforgettable and acted as a catalyst: it was time for us to start a serious project together. I decided to entrust my music to Cyril, with the task of arranging it for a sextet.
I am pleased that he has thus enhanced my compositions, remaining true to this very modal and inevitably somewhat Coltrane-esque music, while adding his personal touch. This blend of our two influences in the same project, like the two levels of a TGV Duplex, transcends the music, travels through landscapes, and offers an original universe that I invite you to discover." – JultraneJultrane
