Laurent De Wilde Trio in the Alps

During the festival’s 2019 edition, the Jazz au Sommet audience welcomes Laurent De Wilde to perform, alongside double bassist Jérôme Regard and Donald Kontomanou on drums, tracks from his album New Monk Trio, released in 2017. The titles from the album, originally written by the great jazz musician Thelonious Monk, are arranged here for jazz trio by Laurent De Wilde to mark what would have been the American composer’s 100th birthday. 

Having graduated from the École normale supérieure at just 21, Laurent De Wilde moved to New York and soon became a close friend of the trumpet player Eddie Henderson. His arrival in the American metropolis kick started what would eventually become a highly successful career, recording numerous albums and receiving the award of New Jazz Artist in the Victoires du Jazz in 1998. Twenty years later, the composer was then awarded Artist of the Year and the Grand Prix Sacem. Alongside his performing career he became obsessed with the music of Thelonious Monk and published a biography of the composer in 1996, and later released a documentary on the jazz icon with the French broadcaster, Arte. In the intimate setting of the Jazz au Sommet Festival, Laurent De Wilde displays the mastermind and great character of Thelonious Monk - a genius improviser and father of the bebop movement!