CONCERTS’ REVIEWS and QUOTES
…Francine’s singing style swung between light-hearted and dramatic and had the audience in the palm of her hand… What made Ms Luce’s performance particularly special was the way she matched her singing with movement both on stage and off as she danced out and through the audience.
Newcastle Jazz and Improvised Music Festival 19 – Dave Clarke
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…Francine Luce can find her way around free music, jazz and fusion. She has already made her distinctive mark.
Guardian; London – John Fordhan
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Francine Luce (vocals) sounded most at home. Francine’s artfully birdlike cries were brilliant. Where has she been?
Jack Massarik; Barbican– Jerry Dammers’ SPATIAL A.KA. ORCHESTRA.
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Chicago’s trumpet star Lester Bowie
turned out for Louis Moholo and his
pan – African drum ensemble at the
Queen Elisabeth Hall and played as
if he had been with them for years,
though Francine Luce’s dramatic
vocals almost stole this show.
Evening standard; London – Jack Massarik
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…und brachte gleich die aus Martinique stammend Sängerin Francine Luce mit. Sie gilf in Jazz-Kreisen als die Entdeckung der letzten Jahre.
…In Jazz circle she is rated the discovery of the recent years.
Tip magazine; Berlin 1994- Ingo Schütte
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Est-ce un bruit, Is it a noise,
Un écho, un oiseau, An echo, a bird,
Une voix? A human voice?
Une voix, celle de Francine Luce… It’s a voice: that of Francine Luce
France- Antilles; Martinique 1992
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Francine Luce, una brillante cantante…
Francine Luce, a brilliant singer…
Il tireno; Italy – Stefano Cavallini
CD REVIEWS
Bò kay la vi-a OGUN, c/o Cadillac Jazz Distribution 1999
… With an astonishing voice. On Bò kay la vi-a she sings with complete conviction and technical surety, in a very personal hybrid of traditional song styles and free improvisation. One glance at her band should be a sufficient indication not just of her musical proclivities but of her great talent. Parker, Rutherford, Rogers, Tippetts and Moholo are masters of extended technique and high level of communication – Luce has no problem jumping in at the most intense level of musicality and interaction…
I hope to be hearing more Luce in the future. Her range, tone, and articulation are fabulous…Strongly recommended.
Cadence: The review of Jazz & Blues: Creative Improvised Music; Jason Bivins – USA 2000
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…Une voix merveilleuse …Francine Luce s’est entouré d’une équipe de rêve pour son premier disque. Des chansons et des textes en Créole, en Français et en Anglais font bon ménage avec des improvisations vocales et la recherche sonore. De belles mélodies créoles flottent dans le brouillard des sons produits dans l’eau par Luce, Parker and Deppa ( Pokeya )!.. Quelle voix!!
…A marvellous voice…Francine has surrounded herself with a dream team for her first record. There is a lovely mix of songs, texts in Creole, French, English and the vocal improvisations and the exploration of the sound. The beautiful Creole melodies blend with the sound of water that Luce, Parker and Deppa use on (Pokéya)… What a voice!!
CHRONIQUES – Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg
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Francine Luce is a vocalist from Martinique, who is joined by the stellar line up of Claude Deppa, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers and Louis Moholo. Her heartfelt singing (in both French and English) dominates the album, and she is as inventive in her use of wordless vocal effects as any of the players on their instruments. As she notes: “The frogs, crickets and birds from Martinique are good improvisers, too.” Her vocalising suggests she has listened hard to them. Intriguingly, Luce, Parker and Rogers play as a trio on the track ‘Pokéya’, on which all three are credited with playing “ water”, and Luce does sound rather bubbly. I can’t wait for the live show!
VOX CONTENT 30 RUBBERNECK; John Eyles – England 1999
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… L’émotion est partout, dans la moindre note du pianiste, dans le plus petit souffle de la voix. On pourrait reprocher à ce disque son manque d’homogénéité, mais lorsque l’on a le talent de Francine Luce, dans tous les registres de l’acte vocal, il serait bien dommage de ne pas l’exposer, en forme de patchwork qui donne a l’auditeur un aperçu des possibilités à venir…
L’émotion, la rigueur et la qualité sont au rendez-vous. Ce disque est une (autre) grande merveille.
Emotions, precision, and high quality are united. This CD is marvellous.
IMPROJAZZ N 60 – France
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“ … Singer Francine Luce, born in Martinique, has a great future ahead of her. She is the discovery of the year- and that’s no exaggeration. Luce owns the type of voice which ‘gives you goosepimpels’, so to speak. She is a gifted improvisor who knows how to spin a vibrating web of songful discourse and free sound/colour interactions.
She resides mostly in England and is in contact with the ‘crème de la crème’ of British music improvisors.
The improvised pieces on the CD have a predominantly, glasslike mood. Luce’s voice either covers the finely spun soundlayers of her musical partners like a piece of lace or grates against them with hot breath.
One doesn’t often see a debut of such conviction, strengh and emotional debth.”
JAZZ LIVE Issue 125/99; HAN – Austria 1999
FRANCINE LUCE 