I AM NOT LAMBERT + mirador - Lambert + Jean-Michel Blais

Lambert In 2015 he was suddenly there. A pianist invariably dressed in a Sardinian antelope mask. Following Daft Punk and The Residents. The rumors were numerous. Who is the person behind the mask? Nils Frahm, who was mentioned in the credits of his debut album? The mystery remains to this day. After that self-titled debut, Lambert toured small clubs and large festivals with, among others, Ólafur Arnalds and José González. Since then, he has been steadily building his own universe of sparse piano compositions with influences from minimal music, jazz, and even subtle pop structures. Ten albums in, he breaks open his own myth with I AM NOT LAMBERT. For the first time, voices come to the fore and the music becomes song-oriented, without letting go of the characteristic minimalist precision and repetitive tension arcs. The compositions balance between intimacy and vastness, while a subtle sense of rhythm weaves everything together. Live, this translates into concentrated sets in which mask or no mask becomes secondary: silence, dynamics, and nuance carry as much weight as virtuosity. In 2017, Lambert already played during Piano day(s) in CCHA, this summer he is at Gent Jazz, after which he comes back towards Hasselt for Piano day 2027! Jean-Michel Blais BELGIAN PREMIERE De Canadese pianist Jean-Michel Blais was already admitted to the Quebec Conservatory at the age of 17. With his debut II (2016), he immediately made a great impression worldwide. Since his passage in CCHA in the autumn of 2019 following Dans ma main, aubades (2022) and désert (2025, with harpist Lara Somogyi) have appeared. Blais combines his conservatory background with a preference for contemporary pop music and couples the melodic sensibilities of Yann Tiersen and Chilly Gonzales to the technical skill of minimalist composers such as Philip Glass and Erik Satie. Live, he performs solo, in ensembles, or with orchestras, in iconic venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam or the Southbank Centre in London. But also during open-air concerts, such as when for more than 40,000 spectators during the Montreal International Jazz Festival. After a residency at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia, Blais continues his musical search. The result will appear soon, and he will come to present it in CCHA on Piano day 2027. “With so many piano albums being released as of late, this one comes as a breath of fresh air.” - acloserlisten.com, 08 Apr 16 “9/10 Yet another intimate masterpiece.” - exclaim.ca, 07 May 18 Lambert piano Lambert / drums Luca Marini / contrabass Felix Weigt / © Andreas Hornoff listentolambert.com Jean-Michel Blais piano Jean-Michel Blais / band tbc / © William Arcand & John Londono jeanmichelblais.com