Release date: 24 January 2020

Elliot Galvin Piano

Recorded live in concert at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris in April 2018, this album distills Elliot’s vision into its purest form, demonstrating once again that he is one of the most exciting contemporary pianists alive today, and able to travel effortlessly across a broad spectrum of acoustic and electronic musical settings.

The iconic Fondation Louis Vuitton building is a new cultural centre designed by the legendary American architect Frank Ghery adjacent to the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne of the 16th arrondissement. Ghery’s extraordinary glass sails float above the surrounding parkland. According to Elliot: “It was a very inspiring building to play in. The concert hall itself was designed so that behind me, either side of the stage, were two man-made water features, very beautiful. The concert was recorded directly live in the space while I performed on a particularly beautiful Steinway D piano.” Elliot’s concert was completely spontaneous, free improvisation, an approach that matched the free-flowing lines of Ghery’s architecture.

‘This concert was created completely in the moment, nothing was pre-prepared or pre-planned. I was responding to that moment in time, to that audience, in that space. You have to be willing to share your complete soul with an audience, trusting them and yourself totally, making the deepest most human connection you possibly can. This record is a document of that moment we all shared. Strangers unified by sound’.

The novel and idiosyncratic nature of Elliot’s trio recordings has perhaps glossed his extraordinary talents as a pianist, and his improvisational ability, although critics have been quick to remark on these strengths: ”He is now a key player in the vanguard of contemporary British jazz musicians” (All About Jazz), “A wunderkind keyboardist and composer.” (BBC Radio 3, Late Junction), “The pianist Elliot Galvin is one of the rising stars of British jazz and a very talented composer and pianist.” (Radio Dreyeckland). That his compositional strengths move beyond arrangement and keyboard exercises is now made clear. Each of the tracks on this album demonstrates not only his ability to improvise to a very high level, but to arrange his musical ideas into compelling and moving forms in the instant. If this was not enough his artistry allows him to add that additional, indefinable element that every great artist expresses: soul.

This album captures a moment in time, an act of selfless bravery, an expression of absolute being, a sharing of souls.

Recorded live in concert in April 2018, this album distills Elliot’s vision into its purest form, demonstrating once again that he is one of the most exciting contemporary pianists in Europe.