The Paris Combo Brings Their Jaunty Cosmopolitan Sound To The Harris Center 

By: Dec. 04, 2018
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"A French quintet with a seemingly endless supply of catchy hooks and imaginative lyrics" (Variety), the Paris Combo has spent two decades traveling the globe, playing to enthusiastic audiences from Sydney to San Francisco and Berlin to Beijing. Theirs is a unique, cosmopolitan sound; a fun-loving mix of swinging gypsy jazz, cabaret, French pop, and Latino and Middle Eastern rhythms. Fronted by the charismatic vocals of Belle du Berry whose "onstage demeanor is so expressive that communication is never an issue... part gamine charm, part playful seduction, her delivery fuses theatrical instincts with jazz-inflected phrasing that accentuates the band's irresistible rhythmic and melodic hooks" (The Age, Melbourne 2017).

The Paris Combo will take to Stage One of the Harris Center Sunday on January 13, 2019, at 1 pm. Tickets are $18-$32; Premium $38. Tickets for children and students with ID are $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street. The media sponsor for the concert is Capital Public Radio.

"Over the course of five recordings, the Paris Combo has fired the imagination of anyone who likes their music cool, continental, witty and more than a little mysterious" (Boston Herald).

Belle du Berry, guitarist Potzi and drummer François Jeannin first performed together in Paris as members of a quirky retro revue, "Les Champêtres de Joie," which went on to collaborate at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in 1992. Du Berry and Australian-born trumpeter-pianist David Lewis met while performing together at the "Cabaret Sauvage" and in 1995 the group began to hone their sound playing in cafés and barges along the Seine under the name "Paris Combo."

"The swinging five-piece Paris Combo mixed infectious and irresistible rhythms and melodies (guaranteed to get you to grab your partner) with lyrics about every facet of love imaginable, and doing it by melding Hot Jazz of the 20s with a Rive Gauche sensibility" (Jazz Weekly).

Du Berry, whose musical roots go back to post-punk bands, cites influences such as Arletty, the French singer-actress of the '30s, but also the Surrealists and a panoply of more recent artists including the B-52's. Potzi's Django-influenced guitar often mixes with François' ska or Latin grooves to create a fascinating blend. Lewis, who had previously played with a wide variety of French bands including Manu Dibango and Arthur H, attributes the group's approach to Paris' cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Paris Combo's eponymous 1997 debut disc arrived as the swing revival was in full bloom, yet the band's wide-ranging mix of musical influences instantly set them apart from other groups in the genre, winning critical praise and appealing to international audiences. The mainstream success of their second album "Living Room" (2000) gave the group a unique status as a French indie band capable of drawing crowds not only in France, where the album went gold, but also in Australia and the USA where they have chalked up over twenty tours. The recording received a nomination at the French industry awards, Les Victoires de la Musique.

The following year Paris Combo released their third set, Attraction, with a series of concerts at the prestigious Cité de la Musique in Paris. Their fourth album, Motifs, 2004, was supported by a tour that included the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where the group was accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

The troupe reunited in 2010 after a four-year hiatus and spent a year writing, rehearsing and rediscovering their hallmark sound. Returning to performing in 2011, the group made their U.S. comeback at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and went on to release their fifth album, simply entitled 5, on the DRG/eOne label. "The marvelously eclectic Paris Combo, (romped) through jazz-tinged selections energized by the quirky vocals of Belle du Berry and Gypsy rhythms of Django Reinhardt-influenced guitarist Potzi" (Los Angeles Times).

Media response to 5 was enthusiastic, and in 2013-14, they sold out venues across the country with their first U.S. tours in a decade and a triumphant return to Australia in 2015. Paris Combo's most recent album, Tako Tsubo was released last year on the DRG/eOne label.

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

Tickets are available online at www.HarrisCenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time.



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