AJC Unveils the 3 New Jazz With Laureates!
For its second edition, Jazz With reaffirms its ambition: to support the creation and circulation of jazz on a European scale. From over 80 applications received, three projects have been selected: BONBON FLAMME, GARDEN OF SILENCES, and LOTUS FLOWERS.
Three distinct musical worlds, united by a shared European spirit.
Driven by artists from across Europe — Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal — these groups embody the vitality of a dynamic and ever-evolving European jazz scene. BONBON FLAMME unleashes wild energy blending jazz, noise, deconstructed blues, and groove; LOTUS FLOWERS offers a free and inspired jazz, as lyrical as it is politically engaged; while GARDEN OF SILENCES explores minimalism through suspended breath, poetic tension, and resonant silences.
Support and Promotion
The three laureates will perform at the upcoming Rencontres AJC — taking place from December 1 to 3, 2025 — before an audience of programmers, journalists, institutions, and industry professionals from across Europe. This event marks the starting point of an enhanced circulation effort. Each group will receive a grant to support their touring and customized assistance tailored to real-world needs: networking opportunities, structural support, and logistical help with touring.
A Reaffirmed European Vision
Thanks to AJC’s strong presence in France and throughout Europe, Jazz With reinforces its mission: to support ambitious artistic projects, promote their dissemination, and position the French jazz scene as an active player within a vibrant and creative European jazz landscape. Following the 2024 laureates — Cheel, T.I.M, and Weave 4 — our three new awardees continue this collective journey toward a transnational, forward-looking jazz.
Welcome!
BONBON FLAMME
© István Huszti
EN : A wind from a fantasised Mexico blows and fans the flames of the quartet created by cellist Valentin Ceccaldi. Inspired by the taste of lemons and the mystical atmosphere of Dia de los Muertos, a brightly coloured, tangy and spicy music is played, shaken, shaped and triturated by Luís Lopes’s guitar, Fulco Ottervanger’s keyboards and Etienne Ziemniak’s drums. Exploring our relationship with our ancestors as much as the explosiveness of the present, the four partners invite us to a pagan feast that celebrates contrasts, from caresses to uppercuts, from chaos to hugs, for a moment that’s both sensitive and furious.
Valentin Ceccaldi (FR) – Cello
Fulco Ottervanger (BE) – Keyboards
Luis Lopes (PT) – Guitar
Etienne Ziemniak (FR) – Drums
FR : Une bourrasque en provenance d’un Mexique fantasmé souffle et attise le feu du quartet créé par le violoncelliste Valentin Ceccaldi. Inspirée du goût des citrons et de l’atmosphère mystique du Dia de los Muertos, une musique aux couleurs vives, acidulée et pimentée se déploie, secouée, façonnée et triturée par la guitare de Luis Lopes, les claviers de Fulco Ottervanger et la batterie d’Etienne Ziemniak. Interrogeant autant notre rapport aux ancêtres que la puissance et l’explosivité du présent, les quatre complices nous convient à une grande fête païenne qui célèbre les contrastes, de la caresse à l’uppercut, du chaos au câlin pour un moment sensible et furieux.
Valentin Ceccaldi (FR) – Violoncelle
Fulco Ottervanger (BE) – Claviers
Luis Lopes (PT) – Guitare
Etienne Ziemniak (FR) – Batterie
GARDEN OF SILENCES
© Stanislas Augris
EN : With this new European quartet, Clément Janinet explores new territories on the borders of jazz and baroque music with Arve Henriksen on trumpet, Ambre Vuillermoz on accordion, and Robert Lucaciu on double bass. Buxtehude and Dowland and Pharoah Sanders debate with the Swedish nyckelharpa, Marin Marais with virulent improvisation and microtonal music, and dances and folk songs from the oral tradition with contemporary chamber music.
Clément Janinet (FR) – Violon
Arve Henriksen (NO) – Trumpet
Ambre Vuillermoz (FR) – Accordion
Robert Lucaciu (DE) – Double bass
FR : Avec ce nouveau quartet européen, Clément Janinet explore de nouveaux territoires aux frontières du jazz, des musiques baroques en compagnie d’Arve Kenriksen (NO) à la trompette, d’Ambre Vuillermoz (FR) à l’accordéon et de Robert Lucadu (DE) à la contrebasse. Buxtehude, Dowland et Pharoah Sanders débattent avec le nyckelharpa suédois, Martin Marais avec l’improvisation virulente et la musique microtonale, les danses et chants populaires de tradition orale avec la musique de chambre contemporaine.
Clément Janinet (FR) – Violon
Arve Henriksen (NO) – Trompette
Ambre Vuillermoz (FR) – Accordéon
Robert Lucaciu (DE) – Contrebasse
LOTUS FLOWERS
© Jérôme Prébois
EN : The composition of Bruno Angelini’s new repertoire pays tribute to the lotuses of our history: Wayne Shorter, Jane Addams, Berta Cacerès, and Nelson Mandela, each of whom, in their own way, worked for the common good, to preserve our planet and ease human relations. Following on from Transatlantic Roots, which honored counter-culture and social struggles in the United States, the core of Bruno Angelini’s compositions is made up of committed melodies, which the pianist and saxophonists Sakina Abdou and Angelika Niescier perform with raw lyricism and a great deal of freedom, sometimes deconstructing them with a sound and aesthetic close to free jazz, infused with blues.
Bruno Angelini (FR) – Piano
Sakina Abdou (FR) – Tenor saxophone
Angelika Niescier (DE) – Alto saxophone
FR : L’écriture du nouveau répertoire de Bruno Angelini rend hommage aux lotus de notre histoire, Wayne Shorter, Jane Addams, Berta Cacerès ou encore Nelson Mandela, qui chacun·e à leur manière ont œuvré au bien commun, pour préserver notre planète et apaiser les relations humaines. Dans la continuité de « Transatlantic Roots » qui honorait la contre-culture et les luttes sociales aux Etats-Unis, le cœur des compositions de Bruno Angelini est constitué de mélodies engagées, que le pianiste et les saxophonistes Sakina Abdou et Angelika Niescier interprètent avec un lyrisme brut et beaucoup de liberté, les déstructurant parfois avec un son et une esthétique proche d’un free jazz empreint de blues.
Bruno Angelini (FR) – Piano
Sakina Abdou (FR) – Saxophone ténor
Angelika Niescier (DE) – Saxophone alto