As part of the Jazz Fabric project, at Paris’s Carreau du Temple, Olivier Benoit (director of the Orchestre National de Jazz) gave Fidel Fourneyron carte blanche to lead the “Fanfare du Carreau du Temple.”

For over a year now, 40 amateur musicians from all backgrounds have been meeting up twice a month in a friendly atmosphere to play an original repertoire, specifically created by Fidel for the Fanfare du Temple.

The band actively participates in the life of Paris’s 3rd arrondissement by performing regularly at events in the neighborhood.

The project, in Fidel’s words

“When I was asked to lead an amateur fanfare orchestra, as part of the Jazz Fabric project at the Carreau du Temple, I was thrilled right away: It’s in this kind of bands that I first learned the ropes and started to love music, back in my native southwestern France.

Playing in a fanfare orchestra means playing in the street, it means playing for people who often haven’t necessarily come to listen to you but who may end up being seduced by the contagious joy of music. It’s music that is played by all and for all, unpretentiously and eagerly.

So we started posting ads around, saying we were looking for musicians — in conservatories and in the Carreau du Temple neighborhood — and we ended up recruiting a considerable orchestra (35 musicians!). I wrote an original repertoire for the band, a sort of musical world tour around the theme of trees, and we’ve been meeting in their metaphorical shade twice a month, on Monday evenings.

And I must admit that the result exceeded my expectations: The band was lucky enough to participate in many events at the Carreau du Temple, which allowed us to perform regularly in front of a warm and attentive audience. The enthusiasm, seriousness, diligence and good humor of all musicians has allowed the orchestra to progress by leaps and bounds, and to record a “souvenir record” after only eight months spent playing together.

We’re excited to get started again for a second year — with new pieces, some new musicians, and everyone full of new dreams and projects. You may get to see more of us real soon …

Fanfare bandeau

 

Here is a sneak peek of the project: