Laurent Epstein's new album - French Movies in New York' - Release : November 28, 2025

Laurent Epstein reveals a profile that Jazz music, familiar with paradoxes, knows well. A much sought-after pianist, he became, among other things, a master in the subtle art of accompanying singing, a field which requires both solid experience and musical intelligence imbued with a certain form of self-sacrifice.

If Laurent is familiar to musicians, perhaps the public perhaps identifies him less, because he has devoted little time to building a personal edifice, of which "French Movies in New York" opportunely reveals itself as an imposing milestone.

As he prepares to celebrate his sixtieth birthday, Laurent Epstein remembers his exchanges with Daniel Yvinec upon his arrival in Paris, and it is the bassist, who has become the artistic director that we know, that he chooses to solicit to design a project that meets his expectations. The two men take the time to get to know each other better and little by little an album takes shape that revisits the great melodies of French cinema. After reflection and exploration, a list of movies and original soundtracks reveals itself which tells us the story : from Duvivier to Lelouch, from Tati to Truffaut, or Caro and Jeunet, carried by the compositions of Van Parys, Delerue, de Roubaix, Sarde, Rezvani …  

Laurent Epstein is launched, and he wants to record the album in New York, to feed on this inexhaustible breeding ground, to drink as close as possible to the source.
 

Double bassist Eddie Gomez, whom the pianist listened to so much in Bill Evans' trios, will be the first choice. The bubbly octogenarian, who made the wise decision to slow down his activity, has not had to be asked twice to return to the studios. We imagine associating him with a drummer resolutely anchored in the history of jazz, and it will be the formidable Willie Jones III, heard with Roy Hargrove, Bill Charlap and Herbie Hancock... Daniel Yvinec finally suggests adding a young singer who recently impressed him : Vanisha Gould. A native of Simi-Valley (California), she is "the talk of the town" in New York, where she now resides.

It took a sharp pen to design arrangements to match this challenge : Philippe Maniez will be the man for the job. The pianist, the arranger and the producer get to work, and there will be mountains to climb... like this crazy idea of â??â??making the song from La Boum, Claude Pinoteau's film, heard in a completely new way. They transfigure it into a moving ballad, worthy of Shirley Horn, carried by the soul-filled voice of Vanisha Gould. Only one take will be necessary as the quartet appears united and inspired. As in life, where this enthusiastic and generous character from another time, Laurent Epstein poses here as an artist who likes to highlight others, and for whom music is, before performance, a pretext for a collective exchange that goes beyond it. It is this value that the French pianist imprints throughout the sessions which will unfold like a dream, in a serene and creative collective spirit.

The ten tracks of the album lead us from surprise to surprise as we are seduced by rediscovering, thus transformed, melodies that we thought we knew.

Recorded at the Oktaven studio, "French Movies in New York" reminds us of the melodic genius of Eddie Gomez, lets us hear a royal and subtle piano playing, of constant elegance, everything is staged by a drummer of indefinable refinement. The icing on the cake is that we discover in Vanisha Gould an extraordinary talent who will not remain ignored for long. 

Accessible, limpid and yet subtle and demanding, "French Movies in New York" highlights the talent of Laurent Epstein, a rare and sensitive musician, always in the right place, in the dream setting of an artistic project with an exceptional cast, which brings him gently but clearly into the big leagues.

French movies in New York' - Laurent Epstein

Laurent Epstein : piano  
Eddie Gomez : double bass 
Willie Jones III : Drums  
Vanisha Gould : Lyrics  
Daniel Yvinec : Artistic direction 
Arrangements : Philippe Maniez & Laurent Epstein 
Recorded at studio Oktaven Audio NY by Ryan Streber on March 27 and 28, 2025  
Mix at Studio Durango by Romain Clisson with Daniel Yvinec
Masterised at Studios Ferber by Simon Lancelot

Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/plaza-mayor-company-ltd/sets/laurent-epstein-french-movies

Label Plaza Mayor Company - http://www.plazamayorcompany.com
Distribution The Orchard - Sony Music - Inouïe
https://www.laurentepstein.com