Greg Szlapczynski - La Part du Diable

This review should have been written a long time ago : La Part du Diable was released in early 2002. However, I find myself glad I took so long to get down to it. La Part du Diable is an unusual record, especially on the harmonica scene, and lies outside my usual field of musical investigation. My appreciation of it has therefore evolved over time and repeated listening, and I’m not sure that my opinion upon first discovery would have been the same as today. Since Greg Szlapczynski just opened his new website at www.gregzlap.com, I decided that was a good opportunity to finally review this record.

Greg Szlapczynski has acquired a small notoriety on the French harmonica scene by taking over Jean-Jacques Milteau’s harmonica school in Paris. For those who don’t know him, he is a young diatonic player whose sound is sharp and precise, and whose musical aspirations are vast. His first release Ternaire Madness flirted with blues, jazz and country but stayed well within the realm of the acceptable for the often close minded blues afficionados. His second album, Gregtime, was a live recording of a similar vein. On both these albums, the astute listener would distinguish, through certain of Greg’s compositions, a will to break down the ‘harmonica=blues’ straightjacket, but neither went as far as Greg seemed to want to go, most likely for fear of alienating his usual public.

With La Part du Diable, Greg has crossed that particular threshold, and the record is all the better for it. Not only does it resolutely walk down the jazz road, it does so with a significant electro touch : samples, effects of other noises abound. Which is not to imply that there is no band: drums, bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals and harmonica flirt around the electronic samples, who end up being complementary rather than dominant.

Stylewise, Greg’s jazz owes more to popular music than bop canon. La Part du Diable features a jazz waltz, (Valse à 30 ans), a spanish-y jazz tango (La Boîte), and several sweet melodies that are given the jazz treatment through arrangement rather than theme. The role of guitarist Pierre Durand is crucial here, through clever chord substitutions and a few improvisations that make him sound like a cross between BB King and John McLaughlin.

If you’re like me, the word ‘sample’ probably gives you an itch, so I guess I should expand on that. This album is not a collage of samples like Us3, St Germain or Moby may have done (with uneven artistic success), but rather an interaction between the band playing and the samples. Several intros start as samples and seemlessly move into the band playing, a number of evocative solos are enhanced by background samples, etc. Much as it surprised me, I love it.

From a harmonica point of view, La Part du Diable is by far Greg’s best effort to date, a superb demonstration of his talent both as writer and player. His playing here is undoubtedly more mature than on his previous albums, and he shows his capacity both for fiery lyricism, like on the opener 1962, and this rare talent of integrating silence in the music, as on Serve you well.

The magical thing about Greg’s playing is that it all sounds so easy until you grab your own instrument and attempt to replicate it. Then you understand that his delicate phrases use all the resources of the diatonic, vibratos, bends, overblows, with such finesse and fluidity that it all sounds ‘natural’. As an illustration, Rue des Lions is a moving guitar / harmonica duet with a simple industrial rhythm in the backdrop. It’s beautiful, haunting, and an absolute bitch to play.

As I grow older, I tend to favour records by talented artists who play what they want to play as opposed to those who don’t (even if they end up playing music that is more stylistically close to what I’m used to enjoying). It took me a while to fully appreciate La Part du Diable,  but it’s now my favourite of Greg’s albums. I listen to it often and every time, discover little things that I hadn’t noticed until then. That’s how rich it is…

I realise also how much guts it must have required for Greg to risk confusing his usual public with no guarantee of finding another audience, and his merit is all the greater. Amidst a harmonica scene that remains very self centered and often rehashes the same references, it’s refreshing to hear a young artists taking these risks and go for something new. Thank you Greg, I can’t wait for the next release !

Comments

[christophe minier]

I'm agree with you.
"La part du diable" is a wonderful CD, my favourite harmonica CD and Greg my favourite player. I have met Greg three or four time and he's not only a great player an composer but also a great man, always helpfull with others and ready to get you better.
Now, all the girls in my village ( where he played in 2002) keep Greg in their mind, he's so lovely.
Lucky man