Le Bal De Tous Dehors

Saxophonist/clarinetist Laurent Dehors’ large ensemble is 15 years old and behaves just as recklessly as any teenager. Jazz from dixieland to avant-garde and modern classical meet as the band and its two special guests, British pianist Matthew Bourne and Finnish accordion virtuoso Veli Kujala, tackle all kinds of dances from menuet to funk and waltz to twist. David Bowie’s Let’s Dance and some Johnny Halliday are, among other things, on the menu.

Dehors, who teaches music at the Rouen Conservatory and also runs a trio, wants to create stylistic connections. That’s why he has done his own versions of operas by Stravinsky, Bizet and Mozart, to get people to relate to classical works from a different perspective. The sound palette and power of the 10 piece band is quite awesome with five horns, two guitars, two drum sets and one marimba/vibrafone player, not forgetting the guests. The closest kindred spirits are probably Zappa and Spike Jones.

Laurent Dehors performs in Pori also as a trio with Matthew Bourne and veli Kujala.