© Charlotte Marchal
Mathieu Najean took the mellow sound born on the Pacific coast, somewhere between Santa Monica and Carmel, singing along to the ocean waves, and made it his. Tenor or baritone sax, the Charentais rolls out a “cool” sound carpet with the virtuoso touch bestowed by his classical education, and the swing that seems to be his second skin.
Things don’t come out of nowhere: for two years, he was a member of the Sounds Swing Machine that, each month, made the Brussels club dance… Here Mathieu Najean takes the helm of a new “Brussels-based” quartet, whose the rhythm he’s known since their time at the Conservatory, ten years or so ago. Among them, the affinity for good melodies and enchanting harmony quickly surfaced, stainless.
That’s why, after focusing on the discrete splendors of the Great American Songbook, Mathieu Nanjean opened up his stylistic horizon to the repertoire typical of the West Coast, from the swaying shores of the bossa nova to the theme of “Vacances de Monsieur Hulot” by Jacques Tati. Only what’s best to feed the irresistible seduction of cool saxes…
D.S.
NEW ALBUM ‘West Side’ (to be released on 20.10.2025 on Zoot Records)