Octotrip – Leila Martial

Octotrip: it is the meeting of eight talented musicians with eclectic backgrounds. An unusual ensemble formed by a young generation of performers open to multiple languages, who defend a repertoire composed exclusively of tailor-made arrangements and creations. Octotrip was born at the CNSMD in Lyon in 2015. The musical influences of the ensemble come from classical and contemporary music but also from jazz and improvised music. Born in 1984 into a family of classical musicians, Leïla Martial was introduced to music and the piano from an early age. This child spends most of her time singing, dancing and clowning around, both on the playground and in the classroom. She went into exile at the age of 10 to the college of Marciac, internal, to learn jazz and more specifically improvisation, which would become her greatest passion. She branched off into the theater for a while then returned to music at the age of 16 to devote herself entirely to it. Travel and encounters are at the heart of her approach as a joyful improviser and she gradually develops an imaginary language between scat and yogurt, which will make her trademark. In 2009, she received the 1st soloist prize at the National Jazz Competition at La Défense as well as the 3rd group prize with her quartet. It is with this same group that she will release her first album Dance floor in 2012 on the Outnote label, which will reveal her in the jazz world. In 2013, she again won the 1st prize for soloist in the Crest jazz vocal competition, then in 2014, she was the winner of the Jazz Migration tour during which she set up her new project BAA BOX. It is with this trio that she released her next two records (Baabel in 2016 and Warm Canto in 2019 on the Laborie Jazz label) and that she invests a large part of her time. At the same time, Leïla develops her clownish personality in performance contexts and unusual encounters. She participates in many projects, sometimes as a leader (Baa Box, AkA, FiL, Furia, Louves) sometimes as a performer (Orchestre National de Jazz, Anne Pacéo Circles, Oliphantre, Maria Chiara Argiro group…) or even as an invited free electron. She is always keen to reconcile long-term collaborations on the one hand and new encounters on the other. Her fundamental quest is Improvisation: music, clowning and dance cannot are more purposes but tools at the service of a freedom of expression that she wishes to be absolute and without frame limits.