CRAZY VIOLIN
It all began with “Crazy Violin on Mondays” at the Théâtre de Nesle, in May, 2004, the story of a weekly rendezvous with Didier Riey and his accomplices: ”Swinging Down a Rendezvous…” echoes “The Triplets of Belleville”.
Surrounded by his favorite studio musicians, Didier and his friends expressed on stage their shared passion for music, inviting us on a colorful journey centered on the violin… The story was a personal one, about a multifaceted fiddle and the pleasure to be found in gypsy jazz and film music… The audience responded enthusiastically to this festive invitation, and success crowned the six months of rehearsals!
Didier Riey wasn’t ready to stop, so he resumed his Monday adventure at the THEATRE DE DIX HEURES in November and December, 2004… Growing success led to daily performances of “CRAZY VIOLIN” in May, 2005. A distinctive note is struck from the very opening of the show; references to yesterday’s and today’s movies are spontaneously intermingled. A tip of the hat to Stéphane Grappelli, focusing on his contribution to French movies (Going Places, May Fools…), a wink to animated films, with the soundtrack of The Triplets of Belleville, jazzy excerpts from the repertory of Michel Legrand (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort…), standards (Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm), and also music composed by Didier Rey for TV (EuroNews’ Agenda theme), as well as excerpts from Didier’s own soundtracks, like that of Bricks ‘n Brats (France 2)… Filming was the responsibility of Daniel Charlier, who adapted Joseph Losey’s celebrated The Servant for the stage in Brussels…
The director blends, with humor and emotion, images of diverse origins, freely drawing on photos from Didier’s personal scrapbook, excerpts from TV series and clips, as well as sequences created specially for the occasion.
The photographer Frédéric Huijbregts generously delved into his personal catalogue to illustrate certain sequences… Daniel Charlier’ stylistic exercise was to work in a way mirroring the composer’s usual method: he created a language of original images specifically designed for the music played onstage…
Guitar: Lionel Jaureguy
Bass: Jean-Louis Carlotti
Drums: Didier Roullin
Sax: Pierre D'Angelo
from the Théâtre de Nesle