ITG 2005

Neville Young, reporter

It has to be said first: Pierre Dutot is The Great Communicator. During this really terrific concert Dutot and the Hexagone Brass led the audience on a fast and exciting trip through a kind of Franco-American zone of their wide repertoire. Sometimes we were falling around with laughter and at other times just sitting astonished at the virtuosity but, dreadful cliché though it may be, I can honestly say that “never a dull moment” is simply the truest way to describe this ensemble and its concert.

Dutot at the start of the concert described Hexagone, like all musicians, as being in a privileged position as “merchants of happiness” and promptly set out to sell us his wares. He keeps a constant, irrepressible patter going between numbers, adding greatly to the atmosphere and enjoyment of the evening.

To really do justice to the concert and its lengthy, varied programme will be impossible due to issues of internet bandwidth and, ultimately, postal costs. Instead let me offer you a few flavours and hints. While flitting between 1920s Paris, and French rural village life and its brass band, we were treated to a highly theatrical Carmen (“a Spanish girl, but a French opera!” interjects Dutot) complete with dramatically pouting tambourine and castanet work from percussionist Michel Palay. On arrival in the village we heard Merle et Pinson by Reynaud, a polka for two cornets whose fine tone and precision double-tonguing made a fitting reminder of Arban, to whom Dutot paid tribute in his introduction. The rest of the group accompanied perfectly and made some great little low brass interjections, as if just to make sure we remembered they were still there motoring away.

Things started to take off in a quite different direction with a really great arrangement of the well-known Les Feuilles Mortes – like me you may know it better as “Autumn Leaves” – which began with a stunning Harmon-muted jazz solo from Thierry Amiot. As well as covering most of the jazz Amiot is also an arranger and composer and makes his presence felt in so many fantastic contributions. Amiot joined Dutot and trumpet colleague and Dutot-lookalike (“but not my twin!”) Alain Loustalot in a rousing Bugler’s Holiday which was followed by another Anderson classic, The Typewriter, with a really quite manic “Jerry Lewis” contributing – and hamming outrageously – a fine performance on the solo “instrument.” The fooling around concealed the very considerable musicianship needed to perform this piece successfully and, reasonably enough, it brought the house down. Our journey continued by way of French and American popular song with the tireless virtuosity of Hexagone illuminating a variety of great tunes, some familiar and some that should be. A sizzling Mambo Five (dedicated, sweetly, to Dutot’s 30th wedding anniversary today) finished the official programme before the encore, Amoit’s Hexablues, thrilled the audience one last time. This was a great show – it had the crowd on its side, a warm atmosphere, and truly great performances and stagecraft: the merchants of happiness made a good sale tonight.