Olivier Roch Quintet

"After many years playing as a "frontman" in a quartet (Forswing and NoCuts bands), I had in mind since 2019 to try my hand at the quintet format. Working on arranging with Joe Makholm of the Bill Evans Academy helped me refine my techniques. To draw a parallel with classical music, writing for five (with two blowers) compared with four allows me to move from the spirit of the concerto to that of the symphony, all things being equal of course.
I chose the trumpet (or flugelhorn) to accompany my clarinet (or bass clarinet) because the marriage of their timbres works so well. With these instruments, there are a total of four possible combinations of timbres, depending on the sound required for each piece.
In my new compositions, we find jazz, classical and world influences in a more acoustic universe than in my previous project, NoCuts. I wanted to go further in the exploration of odd bars, metric changes and polyrhythms, while remaining accessible, melodic and giving more freedom to improvisations, 
It was my arrival at the Pousse-pousse Production collective that enabled me to meet some excellent musicians (and great personalities!) at ease in this demanding musical universe: Léo Jeannet, a peerless improviser on trumpet/flugelhorn, Jad Salameh, a virtuoso with an oriental touch on piano, Marie Véto, a rock-solid double bassist, and, the latest addition to the group, Pierre Hurty, a gifted all-rounder on drums". Olivier Roch