ISABELLE OLIVIER

IMPRESSIONS

Rewound Echoes

Isabelle Olivier, harp/composer/arranger; Raphael Olivier, electronics; Baptiste Thiebault, drums; Tom Olivier Beuf, piano/accordion/arranger; Mathias Naon & Anne Le Pape, violins; Cyprien Busolini, viola; Jean Philippe Feiss, cello.

French jazz harpist Isabelle Olivier offers this album, “Impressions,” as a tribute to the popular impressionistic art movement.

“I think about impressionism as a combination between elegance, minimalism, and spectral notions, feelings, and vibes. Things you can feel, but you cannot explain,” Olivier describes her album title.

Olivier uses artistic and human exploration to inspire her harp playing, along with a desire to explore various musical styles, genres, disciplines, and world territories. She has recorded a dozen albums featuring her compositions, and “Impressions” continues to be an extension of her harp playing, composing, and arranging skills.

Surrounded by a rich string section and the colorful additions of electronics by Raphael Olivier, this is a lovely project, leaning heavily towards European classical music. Olivier’s band includes her two sons, pianist and accordionist Tom Olivier-Beuf and electronic musician Raphael Olivier. The opening tune introduces a lush string section, with Olivier’s harp leading the way both spiritually and melodically. The arpeggio piano of Tom Olivier Beuf dances through the opening bars of this song, fluttering like bird wings. He compliments his mother’s harp playing beautifully. This moderate-tempo, original composition is quite beautiful, representing a field of sunflowers and also celebrating one of her favorite painters, Van Gogh, who had a famous series titled “Sunflowers.”

Her composition “Éclats” represents brightness. It is propelled by a rhythmic accordion and the drums of Baptiste Thiebault. Her tribute to Paul Cezanne, who was a French Post-Impressionist painter, begins in a very somber way, but soon the music lightens and brightens.

On this album, Isabelle Olivier celebrates two cities that are dear to her heart. One is Chicago (the windy city), and the other is her beloved Paris (the city of lights). Her love of music and impressionistic art have never been separated in her mind. Cartoon art is actually what introduced her to the harp. It was Duchess, the harp-playing Walt Disney cat in a 1970 animated film called ‘The Aristocats’ that inspired Olivier to pursue study of the harp. Once she secured her university degree in classical music, she co-founded the jazz quartet “Ocean” with the Moulin Brothers. They are well respected on both the French and American jazz scenes.

Her composition “Fog on the Lake” interjects some aspects of Avant-garde into the arrangement, as does “Tango,” another favorite of mine. Every composition on this album has a connection to a visual artist and the way that artist made Isabelle Olivier feel when she became lost in their paintings. She can still recall her very first experience seeing Van Gogh’s paintings.

“I was just shocked. I had goosebumps, then I wanted to cry. I didn’t understand it, but I was so moved,” Olivier confesses.

The pianist hopes to bring you that kind of emotional connection with her music, her compositions, and her talent.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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