Thousand Shades of a Clown by Pierre-Antoine Savoyat

Pierre-Antoine Savoyat | Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito

Thousand Shades of a Clown

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917361926
Catnr: CR 73619
Release date: 23 January 2026
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Label
Challenge Records

UPC
0608917361926

Catalogue number
CR 73619

Release date
23 January 2026

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Pierre-Antoine Savoyat couldn’t have found a better title for this second album! Thanks to his subtle way of contemplating and embellishing space and sound as a composer and as trumpet player, Thousand Shades of a Clown reveals personal and refreshing music with a kaleidoscopic imagination, effervescent with colours and emotions.

The veil of the clown’s mask gradually *fades away* to reveal the essence of his art: tenderness, generosity and humility. Much like a sleeping volcano, we enjoy a poetic quietness always bounded with a boiling energy underneath the surface.

Sometimes, Pierre-Antoine allows us to witness an unannounced eruption, before returning to a feeling of deep peace through the beauty of a masterful sound. His characteristic kindness probably hides a passionate fire and his humanist commitments in search of truth are never far away; perhaps even constituting the lifeblood of this work in which the stories of his life untangle and detangle. His desire to make the world a more wonderful place is expressed through the poetry of lyrical musical gestures, supported and propelled with intensity by his faithful accomplice, pianist Simon Groppe, a true chameleon of the keyboard. Their surprising and precise articulations are extended with equal finesse by Fil Caporali on double bass and Oscar Georges on drums, forming a perfectly harmonized quartet.

Between his solitude and the absurdity of the world, Savoyat has forged a masterful and compelling musical language, bringing with him guests with boundless imagination and crystal-clear ideas, true nuggets of pure gold like those old-time-alchemists dreamed of: Alexandra Grimal, with her majestic saxophone sound; Lucia Pires, with her light and dauntless flute; and Lynn Cassiers, captivating with her unique vocal and artistic universe.

Therefore, the album takes on a plural form in a counterpoint of shared stories, styles and times without ever losing the coherence of a common discourse. Pierre-Antoine weaves the whole together with the care of a goldsmith and through his fluid and mysterious intonations - where the ‘between’ naturally becomes the ‘inside’ - he blossoms into space like a tightrope walker defying the laws of gravity. Each piece of music has its own specific touch; the titles speak for themselves, sprinkled with melancholy and filled with warmth. Comforting like a refuge where you are always In good company — as in the lyrics of Lynn Cassiers — this album could even become one of those with which you live, breathe, and through which you open the windows of your inner universe to get closer to the light in a world that has become far too dark.

Pierre-Antoine Savoyat hätte keinen besseren Titel für dieses zweite Album finden können! Dank seiner subtilen Art, als Komponist und Trompeter Raum und Klang zu betrachten und zu verschönern, offenbart Thousand Shades of a Clown persönliche und erfrischende Musik mit einer kaleidoskopischen Fantasie, sprudelnd vor Farben und Emotionen.
Der Schleier der Clownsmaske löst sich allmählich auf und offenbart die Essenz seiner Kunst: Zärtlichkeit, Großzügigkeit und Bescheidenheit. Ähnlich wie bei einem schlafenden Vulkan genießen wir eine poetische Stille, die immer mit einer brodelnden Energie unter der Oberfläche verbunden ist.
Manchmal lässt Pierre-Antoine uns Zeugen einer unangekündigten Eruption werden, bevor er durch die Schönheit eines meisterhaften Klangs zu einem Gefühl tiefer Ruhe zurückkehrt. Seine charakteristische Freundlichkeit verbirgt zweifellos ein leidenschaftliches Feuer, und sein humanistisches Engagement auf der Suche nach der Wahrheit ist nie weit entfernt; vielleicht bildet es sogar das Herzstück dieses Werks, in dem sich die Geschichten seines Lebens entwirren und entflechten. Sein Wunsch, die Welt zu einem schöneren Ort zu machen, drückt sich in der Poesie lyrischer musikalischer Gesten aus, die von seinem treuen Komplizen, dem Pianisten Simon Groppe, einem wahren Chamäleon der Tastatur, intensiv unterstützt und vorangetrieben werden. Ihre überraschenden und präzisen Artikulationen werden von Fil Caporali am Kontrabass und Oscar Georges am Schlagzeug mit gleicher Finesse erweitert und bilden ein perfekt harmonisches Quartett.
Zwischen seiner Einsamkeit und der Absurdität der Welt hat Savoyat eine meisterhafte und fesselnde Musiksprache geschaffen und Gäste mit grenzenloser Fantasie und kristallklaren Ideen mitgebracht, wahre Nuggets aus purem Gold, wie sie sich die Alchemisten der alten Zeit erträumt haben: Alexandra Grimal mit ihrem majestätischen Saxophonklang, Lucia Pires mit ihrer leichten und unerschrockenen Flöte und Lynn Cassiers, die mit ihrem einzigartigen vokalen und künstlerischen Universum bezaubert.
So nimmt das Album eine pluralistische Form an, in einem Kontrapunkt aus gemeinsamen Geschichten, Stilen und Zeiten, ohne jemals die Kohärenz eines gemeinsamen Diskurses zu verlieren. Pierre-Antoine verwebt das Ganze mit der Sorgfalt eines Goldschmieds und durch seine fließenden und geheimnisvollen Intonationen – in denen das „Zwischen“ ganz natürlich zum „Inneren“ wird – blüht er im Raum auf wie ein Seiltänzer, der den Gesetzen der Schwerkraft trotzt. Jedes Musikstück hat seine eigene Note; die Titel sprechen für sich, sind von Melancholie durchdrungen und voller Wärme. Tröstlich wie ein Zufluchtsort, an dem man immer in guter Gesellschaft ist – wie in den Texten von Lynn Cassiers –, könnte dieses Album sogar zu einem jener Alben werden, mit denen man lebt, atmet und durch die man die Fenster seines inneren Universums öffnet, um dem Licht in einer Welt näher zu kommen, die viel zu dunkel geworden ist.

Artist(s)

Pierre-Antoine Savoyat (trumpet)

From a music-lover family, Pierre-Antoine Savoyat blows his first notes on cornet at the Conservatoire de Villefranche-sur-Saône (France). Curious and passionate, he tries and dug a lot of different music styles (free improvisation, jazz, piano, trending music,...) during his teenage years. As a self-taught musician, he composes his first bars at only eight years old. After studying at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Chalon sur Saône, where he obtains a triple musical diploma in Jazz (Olivier Py, Fred Nardin...) Classical Trumpet (Eric Planté) and Orchestral Conducting, and he also follows Composition and Organ lessons. Pierre-Antoine improves himself in the jazz department of the Koninklijke Conservatorium Brussel (Thomas Mayade, Jean-Paul Estievenart, Diederik Wissels, Stéphane Galland, Jeroen Van Herzeel...), where he got...

Pierre-Antoine improves himself in the jazz department of the Koninklijke Conservatorium Brussel (Thomas Mayade, Jean-Paul Estievenart, Diederik Wissels, Stéphane Galland, Jeroen Van Herzeel...), where he got his Bachelor Degree with distinction and a Master Degree with Great Distinction (during his master he made an exchange-semester at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne, Switzerland, with Matthieu Michel and Emil Spanyi). He also follows some important masterclass for him, with Alexandra Grimal, Philippe Catherine, Steve Coleman, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra...

On the Jazz and Improvisational scene, Pierre-Antoine is one of the rising musicians of Brussels. Leader of his own quartet Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito (featuring Simon Groppe on piano, Fil Caporali on doublebass, and Oscar Georges on drums), he is regularly resident of the Sounds Jazz Club (with his band or as the artistic director of the club's big band). He is also a member of Bruteleiir Collectiif , the French quartet Sornette or Q-Some Big Band (where he also composed). He has also a duo with the German pianist Moritz Preisler. As an appreciated sideman, we can listen Pierre-Antoine in different projects like Stéphane Galland & the Rhythm Hunters, Elsiris, Orson Claeys 5tet, Joseph Bijon 5tet, and take part in the artistic process as an arranger for the French singer La Sido, or the Belgian Colline. He plays also with some other great names in the European scene: Aka Moon, Django Bates, Denis Badault, Franck Tortillier, Jesse Van Ruller, Gerry Hemingway, Gard Nilssen, John Ruocco... As a no border musician, Pierre-Antoine collaborate with groups from other styles: Aksak Fanfär (Balkan music), Boogie Belgique (electro), Napsis (pop)... and made an appearance on the album Globetrotter Side B, by the Californian singer Wil Key.

Pierre-Antoine is also an very active composer, already well-known on the British Brass Band Scene, his Sinfonietta n°2 Quatre Impressions commissioned by the Hauts de France Brass Band conducted by Luc Vertommen was acclaimed at the European Brass Band Championship 2022 in Birmingham, and imposed as a test piece of the Belgian National Championship 2023. He also work with Brass Band Buizingen, the European Youth Brass Band (2016, conducted by Erik Janssen), the French Air Force and Space Brass Band, Sophie Binet-Budelot (solo Horn of Hauts de France Brass Band) or Christine Rolland (solo Euphonium of Paris Brass Band). But outside of this area, Pierre-Antoine work also for other formation like Wind Band (Isère Wind Orchestra conducted by Eric Villevière, Lyon Metropole Orchestra conducted by Yoann Combémorel...), symphonic orchestra (Victor Hugo's Young Orchestra of Besançon conducted by Jean-François Verdier). In 2022, Pierre-Antoine was a finalist in the European Composer Slam Competition, organized by Orchester Im Treppenhaus from Hannover, conducted by Thomas Posth.

He won the 6th Angelo Inglese Competition for Band Composition, with a very emotional work Farewell, Reflections from Crisantimi by G. Puccini

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Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito

Alexandra Grimal (saxophone)

Simon Groppe (piano)

Fil Caporali (double bass)

Fil Caporali, double bass player and composer natural from São Paulo, Brazil. In 2016 was laureate with the Toots Thielemans Jazz Awards. His formation includes a bachelor at Universidades Integradas Cantareira, São Paulo (2009-2012), a master at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (2014-2016), a postmaster at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (2016-2018) and an ongoing PhD at Vrije Universiteit Brussel /Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. Fil’s projects as a leader/co-leader include Moon Souvenirs, Moanin’ Birds, Fil Caporali 5tet, Fil Caporali and Tsai Wen-Hui Duo. He also plays in bands such as Commander Spoon, Margaux Vranken, Pauline Leblond Double Quartet, Synestet, Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito, Aishinka, Amorosa, Via Toledo Jazz Quartet, Vestige, Hughes Maréchal, HU! among others. Throughout his career he had the chance to tour in Europe, UK,...

Fil’s projects as a leader/co-leader include Moon Souvenirs, Moanin’ Birds, Fil Caporali 5tet, Fil Caporali and Tsai Wen-Hui Duo.

He also plays in bands such as Commander Spoon, Margaux Vranken, Pauline Leblond Double Quartet, Synestet, Le Monde Merveilleux de Pépito, Aishinka, Amorosa, Via Toledo Jazz Quartet, Vestige, Hughes Maréchal, HU! among others.

Throughout his career he had the chance to tour in Europe, UK, China, Taiwan, Panama and Brazil at important venues such as Thrill Jazz Festival (Jazz Bar - Edinburgh), Brussels Jazz Festival (Flagey - Brussels), Festival Radio France de Montpellier, Jammin’ Jazz Tales (Auditorium Parco Della Musica - Rome), PIC Télémaque (Marseille) and others.

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