Jules Billé double bass
Donald Kontomanou percussion
Paul Lay piano
Winner of the Instrumental Artist at the 2020 Victoires du Jazz Awards, Paul Lay is a multifaceted pianist who has been developing his unique talent by collaborating with a wide range of musicians over the past 10 years. After studying at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, he made his major debut in 2010 with the album Unveiling (with Simon Tailleu and Elie Duris) and has been collecting prestigious awards ever since, including the soloist prize at the La Défense Jazz Festival Competition, the International Piano Jazz Competition of Moscow, the Martial Solal International Piano Jazz Competition, the Charles Cros Academy Prize for his second album, Mikado, and the Django Reinhardt Prize by the French Jazz Academy for the best French jazz artist of the year. Paul was also voted French Revelation by Jazz Magazine’s Critic Poll in 2016. He regularly collaborates with new artists to create new, original formats. In 2015, for La Folle Journée de Nantes, he created Billie Holiday, passionnément, a music video performance with video maker Olivier Garouste, which was given at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Trident in Cherbourg, the Roque d’Anthéron Festival and the French May Festival in Hong Kong. A sought-after sideman, he performs with Riccardo Del Fra, Géraldine Laurent, Eric le Lann, and Ping Machine. Regularly invited abroad, he has played at the French May in Hong Kong, the Garana Jazz Festival, JazzFest Berlin, Montreux Jazz Festival, Festival de Jazz d’Agadir, Gaume Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, as well as in China, Japan, and Russia. In France, he can be heard at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Arsenal in Metz, the Trident in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the Théâtre National in Bordeaux, and La Criée in Marseille, as well as at the Jazz in Marciac, Jazz à La Villette, Jazz à La Défense, Paris Jazz Festival, Saint-Paul de Vence, Jazz Sous les Pommiers and Jazzdor festivals in Strasbourg, not to mention his performances at La Roque d’Anthéron, La Folle Journée, the Lille Piano(s) Festival, and Piano aux Jacobins. His discography has been widely acclaimed by the critics, with albums such as The Party (with Dre Pallemaerts and Clemens Van Der Feen, 2017), Alcazar Memories (with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu, 2017), Thanks a Million (a duo with Éric le Lann in a stirring tribute to Louis Armstrong, 2018), and Deep Rivers (with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu, 2020). In 2021, he released his first solo piano album with the Gazebo label: Full Solo, dedicated to original interpretations of works by Beethoven, which reached the top of the Fnac sales charts in the Jazz/Blues category. His latest album, Blue in Green, a tribute to Bill Evans recorded live at La Piccola Scala, has since been released on the Scala Music label and has also become a Fnac favourite. In September 2022, Paul Lay joined the teaching staff of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMD) as professor of jazz piano.