Jazz, compositions — Franco-Mauritanian pianist Leïla Olivesi is a brilliant artist on the French jazz scene, a composer and bandleader. She was voted “Musician of the Year” in the 2025 Top Jazz by Jazz Magazine and Jazz News.
Her new album, “African Rhapsody”, has just received the Prix du Disque français de l’Académie du Jazz. The sixth woman to win the Prix Django Reinhardt in 72 years and an accomplished composer, Leïla has recently written two works for choir: “Rhapsody in Black” with the Chœur Philharmonique International (2024), and “Le Tour du monde en 80 lunes” for the Voco choir of the Hauts-de-Seine department (Seine Musicale, 2025). A conductor for the 2025 edition of the Festival Marseille Jazz des Cinq Continents with the Big Band Jazz AMU, she has led her medium-sized ensemble since 2018. Immersed since childhood in jazz, poetry, and the writers of Négritude, the pianist has created a tailor-made new musical universe for her octet, where composition and improvisation blend with magic. The high point of the group, for whom this is the third album, “African Rhapsody” confirms her talents as a composer and showcases an orchestra of inspired soloists (Baptiste Herbin, Quentin Ghomari, Adrien Sanchez, Jean-Charles Richard and Manu Codjia), enhanced by a new vocal and choral dimension. This opus invites listeners on a journey from Africa to Corsica, by way of the dunes of Chinguetti and New York. It includes, among other pieces, a tribute to Wayne Shorter entitled Wayne Left Town, breathtakingly swinging, as well as a nod to Duke Ellington with “Little African Flower”. Leïla Olivesi: piano, compositions Quentin Ghomari: trumpet Manu Codjia: guitar Yoni Zelnik: double bass Donald Kontomanou: drums Le 38Riv: Located in the heart of the Marais, 38Riv is an intimate jazz club and bar. It is a place for all kinds of musical encounters: from jazz to Latin jazz, via funk and baroque. Its vaulted 12th-century cellar offers warm and authentic acoustics.
Price: Online price: 24 to 29 euros On-site price: 27 to 32 euros.
Source: paris.fr — photo: DR