Invited by the «Symphony Orchestra of Brittany» and strongly
supported by the Estran in Guidel (France), Guillaume Saint-
James embarked on writing an extension of the album Polis.
Megapolis, composed for symphony orchestra and jazz sextet,
is the composer’s vision of the city.
Megapolis offers a link between written and improvised music.
It is the encounter between two worlds that interact, where
stronger relationships are established. The composition, a
concerto with contrasting alternating tutti and solo passages,
reveals each instrumental section of the symphony orchestra
and invites the sextet to dialogue with the musicians.
The work is centred around eight urban scenes which entice the
listener to visit an imaginary city, replete with contrasts some
thrilling some pitiful.
Acclaimed by the music press as ‘Ellingtonian’ or ‘retinal’ music
Megapolis conjures visions that the artist transforms into
sequences where humour and rhapsody co-exist naturally; where
expansive audio spaces meet rythmic jewels in an amplitude
and flow that are the heritage of not only the great masters of
classical music but also the legacy of the jazz artists such as
Duke Ellington, Bernard Hermann, John Barry ou Maria Schneider.
tracklist
1. Balkanik Station
2. Taxi +
3. Rumba Baloo
4. Un Papillon Pour Maria
5. Iruten Ari Nuzu
6. Start Pilote
7. Ceux Qui Restent
8. Pursuit