Album of the Week, 03-19-24
Felix Lamerle – Blues for the End of Time
Self-Released
Released November 1, 2022
Duke Ellington wisely noted, “I don’t need time; I need a deadline,” and perhaps the most extreme deadline of all is the conclusion of existence itself. Félix Lemerle’s Blues for the End of Time acknowledges the many crises that threaten contemporary society (and of Olivier Messiaen’s landmark piece “Quatuor pour la fin du temps”) and his own reckoning with the tribulations of life. As a debut release, Blues for the End of Time not only symbolizes the strength of Lemerle’s emergence and voice.
Félix Lemerle – guitar
Bertha Hope – piano (tracks 1[2nd solo],2,5,6,8,9)
Samuel Lerner – piano (tracks 1[1st solo],3,4,7,10)
Ari Roland – upright bass
Jimmy Cobb – drums
About Felix Lemerle:
Growing up in his native Paris, Lemerle was exposed to music at an early age thanks to his father, a jazz bass player. Initially trained as a classical pianist, he shifted his attention to guitar and jazz music in his teens, and started performing in France and Europe in various clubs and festivals. After graduating from the CRR de Paris with a Degree in Jazz & Improvised Music, he moved to New York City as a Fulbright Scholar to complete his Master in Jazz Performance at CUNY Queens College. There he quickly established himself on the scene, performing, recording and touring with some of the foremost musicians in the world. Recently, he joined the Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies at Juilliard.
A highly in-demand guitarist, Félix has performed internationally in venues & festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, BLU Jazz+, Dirty Dog, Fat Cat, Jazz in Marciac, Sunset/Sunside, Duc des Lombards, Vibrato, The Nash, The Jazz Corner & Highlights in Jazz, sharing the stage with luminary musicians such as Jimmy Cobb, Freddie Redd, Buster Williams, Ari Roland, Tardo Hammer, Steve Turre, Brian Lynch, Chris Byars, Peter & Will Anderson, Don Hahn, Ned Goold, Dominick Farinacci, John Mosca, Veronica Swift, Cyrille Aimée, Chuck Redd, Michael Valeanu, Ed Howard, Scott Robinson, René Urtreger, Jon-Erik Kellso, Joe Cohn, Luigi Grasso, etc.
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Each week, WDNA music director, Michael Valentine shares his album of the week. Michael’s picks often focus on new jazz releases, but sometimes dip into history with notable and classic releases worth revisiting.
