“Music in the spotlights” : concert with the BIG BAND 13 !

BIG BAND 13: jazz on a grand scale!

A few piano notes, a trumpet bursting into life, the saxophones responding, the trombones roaring…

The drums set the rhythm, whilst the double bass and guitar drive the groove forward.

And suddenly, there it is: jazz on a grand scale!

BIG BAND 13 is all about the joy of a large jazz orchestra on stage: around twenty musicians, a singer, and a collective energy just waiting to be shared.

In the heart of Provence, BIG BAND 13 brings the spirit of the great orchestras to life, with swing, blues, timeless melodies and that powerful sound that transforms the stage into a veritable playground, full of joy and celebration.

Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Claude Bolling, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole…: the repertoire draws on the vast history of jazz and popular music.

But BIG BAND 13 doesn’t merely play the past: it brings it to life today, in front of a live audience.

As musical director since 2022, Michel Delakian brings over forty years’ experience in the world of jazz and on major stages across the globe, having worked alongside some of the most prominent musicians and orchestras on the French and international scene.

Concerts, festivals, open-air venues… BIG BAND 13 loves to engage with audiences and turn the big band into a vibrant, generous and popular live show.

But BIG BAND 13 doesn’t just play the past: it brings it to life today, in front of a live audience.

As musical director since 2022, Michel Delakian brings over forty years’ experience in jazz and on major stages around the world, having worked alongside some of the most prominent musicians and orchestras on the French and international scene.

Concerts, festivals, open-air venues… BIG BAND 13 loves to engage with audiences and turn the big band into a lively, generous and popular show.

BIG BAND 13 presents its new show in 2027: BLEU BLANC BLUES: FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.

Jazz was born far from here.

But for over a century, it has travelled, crossed oceans, encountered other cultures and continued to reinvent itself.

With BLEU BLANC BLUES: FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEDITERRANEAN, BIG BAND 13 tells this story in its own way: the story of a jazz that originated in America, became universal, and now resonates under the sun of Provence and beyond.

From the big bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie to the great voices of Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, from the roots of the blues to the rhythms that get today’s dance floors moving, BIG BAND 13 crafts a musical journey between two shores:

FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.

A great orchestra. A great story.

And above all, jazz on a grand scale

Michel Delakian has been leading BIG BAND 13 since 2022.

For over 40 years, he has played and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz: Stéphane Grappelli, Didier Lockwood, Gil Evans, Quincy Jones, Rhoda Scott and Kenny Burrell, amongst others…

A virtuoso trumpeter, he has toured the world with Claude Bolling’s Big Band, which he joined in 1981.

He also played for several years in the big bands led by Martial Solal and Michel Legrand.

In France, he has performed at the major jazz festivals (Nice, Juan-les-Pins, Marciac, Vienne, etc.) and played in most of Paris’s jazz clubs (the New Morning, the Caveau de la Huchette, the Petit Opportun, the Petit Journal Montparnasse, the Duc des Lombards, etc.).

Beyond jazz, Michel Delakian has also worked in pop music with Charles Aznavour, Sacha Distel, Dany Brillant, Guy Marchand, Shirley Bassey, Björk…

And he joined Paul Mauriat’s Grand Orchestra in 2002, undertaking numerous tours in Japan, Korea, China, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, the Baltic States, etc.

BIG BAND 13 comprises around twenty musicians, all united by a single energy.

Trumpets, trombones, saxophones, drums, double bass, guitar, piano and vocals…

BIG BAND 13 delivers the great sound of jazz, live and unfiltered.

# vocals: Coline Fourment

# saxophones: Martine Batot, Olivier Carrot, Philippe Gambini, Jean-Pascal Gauchais, Maryline Guitou, Yannick Le Magadure

# trombones: Rolland Beauvois, Jean-Pierre-Brun, Bernard Pereira, Patrick Rousson

# trumpets: Stéphane Heinz, Michel Dérié, Alain Manzo, Clément Moulin, Thierry Riboulet

# Rhythm section: Nicolas Reynaud / double bass, Roby Debono / guitar & double bass, Antoine Bazin / keyboard,

Rennie Placide / drums.

Organised by the Events Department of the Moustiers-Ste-Marie Tourist Office