Live in San Javier 2021

French-born agronomist-turned-cellist Matthieu Saglio reprises his 2020 top-selling album El Camino de los Vientos (reviewed in the July 2020 issue, #159), which successfully mixed European jazz and classical Western music with traditional Arabic tunes, and throws in a few unreleased gems for good measure. Recorded on a moonlit night last July at the San Javier International Jazz Festival in the Murcia region of Spain, it’s been described by the organisers as ‘one of the ten best concerts in the history of the festival,’ which has been running since 1998.

Much of Saglio’s studio work has a distinct cinematic quality – he’s in demand as a creator of soundtracks for theatre, television and film – and this translates surprisingly well to a live setting. Saglio, who now lives in Valencia, is joined on stage by friends such as percussionist Steve Shehan, violin player Léo Ullman, accordionist Carlos Sanchis and pianist Christian Belhomme. Even his brother, singer Camille Saglio gets a look in on a few numbers including the plaintive slow-burner ‘Altman’. The more uptempo ‘Cositas del Querer’ evocatively captures the lively spirit of what was clearly a memorable night in the career, still very much in its upward trajectory, of this talented and charismatic performer.