A pioneer of vocal improvisation at the turn of the 70s, singer Norma Winstone remains, after more than 50 years of a career as demanding as it is diverse, one of the best-kept secrets of European experimental jazz. In a chamber music spirit that recalls the poetic grace of the Azimuth trio she formed with pianist John Taylor and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler over a period of almost twenty years, Norma Winstone now finds an ideal intimate setting in her duo with British pianist Kit Downes, all restraint and innuendo. The singer displays the full range of her inimitable artistry, combining great plasticity with ultra-sensitive lyricism and a sense of delicately resonant swing.

This European quartet imagined by Clément Janinet with Norwegian Arve Henriksen, Frenchwoman Ambre Vuillermoz and German Robert Lucaciu is a fine example of cross-border inventiveness. Very active in Europe, the French violinist extends the desire and aesthetics of his previous projects, such as O.U.R.S. and La Litanie des Cimes, to put the challenges of interweaving free improvisation and classical repetitive music in the hands of musicians from other cultures. This formula, in which the violin dialogues with trumpet, accordion and double bass, also frees itself from the limits of repertoires. Baroque music debates with Swedish nickelharpa, improvisation with microtonal, contemporary chamber music with folk songs from the oral tradition: a creation both of its time and out of time.

Garden of Silences is co-produced by Jazzdor, D'Jazz Nevers, Théâtre de Caen, La Dynamo de Banlieues bleues, Le Petit Faucheux, Jazz sous les Pommiers, Budapest Music Center, Media Music, Le Luisant, l'Œil du Cyclope.