Les Égarés (2023)

"The French cellist Vincent Segal is one of those peripatetic players who shows up across the musical frontier: with Sting or Cesária Évora, on an arthouse film score or a dancefloor remix. Segal’s most feted collaboration remains with Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko on "Chamber Music" (2009) and "Musique De Nuit" (2015), where they pulled the traditions of Africa and Europe into a seductive neoclassical fusion. Here, the pair are joined by accordionist Vincent Peirani and soprano sax player Émile Parisien on a venture that proves just as irresistible. It’s a sprightly, restless set, with Segal’s plucked cello providing a thrumming heartbeat to what is a communal, improvisational approach. There are reflective pieces, but more typical is the group’s reworking of Joe Zawinul’s "Orient Express", while "Esperanza" seems a drunken Colombian cumbia. Although inflected by various accents – Balkan feel to "Izao", a touch of Coltrane to Parisien’s sax – this is truly fusion music." (The Observer; 4 uit 5 sterren)