Thôt

“In the land of musical mathematics, Thoth consistently holds his rank, but not only. Stéphane Payen’s meticulous compositional work and the complicity that reigns between the saxophonist, Gilles Coronado, Hubert Dupont and Christophe Lavergne fully illuminate the stage space. The primary musicality is there, lurking in the structural meanderings of the themes, anchored even in the variability of the movements. Although it is necessary to be precise and rigorous to play this music, the quartet nevertheless offers the image of musicians expressing themselves on a nuanced, dense palette, where each one brings his qualities to the ensemble in a vein where individual freedom remains fundamental. Rhythmic choices impose dramaturgy, improvisation opens the space to free sounds. Listening, caught up in the flow of sound, the audience can feel captive. The ear, even on the lookout, is so solicited that it is monopolised, the constantly surprising cadences are hypnotic, it is loud and rare. This is like Thoth, a different group which nevertheless retains the pagan colour of its leader whose strong personality imposes a versatile climatology. In concert, Thôt can be disconcerting, but it must be recognised that its permanence in renewal gives it the depth of intelligent contemporary music; that which marks and stands out, which asserts the durability of artistic creation as a source of fulfilment. “Yves Dorison