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Release Date: 20 March 2026
Label: Attention Fragile / Autre Distribution
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 3521383499399
Genres: Jazz Contemporary
Release Date: 13 November 2026
Label: Attention Fragile / Autre Distribution
Packaging Type: Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 3521381606478
Genres: Jazz Contemporary
Description
Winner of the Django Reinhardt Prize 2022 from the Academie du Jazz and named Artist of the Year, French-Mauritanian pianist, conductor, and composer Leila Olivesi pays tribute to a poetic and imagined Africa with her album African Rhapsody. Performed by an octet featuring some of the finest musicians of her generation, Olivesi's compositions craft vast musical landscapes, journeying from the light of the Sahara to the urban pulse of New York, weaving connections between Africa, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean.
Born Normandy to a Mauritanian father and a Corsican mother, Leila Olivesi grew up in an artistic and cosmopolitan environment, immersed in the sounds of Astor Piazzolla's bandoneon, the voice of Nina Simone, and the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. She first tasted the joys of performance aged thirteen as part of the P'tits Loups du Jazz troupe. Leila holds a doctorate in music and musicology, as well as a degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne. Her formal training includes studies in jazz piano, composition, and orchestration. One of her tutors was renowned pianist and former Art Blakey Messenger, Mulgrew Miller.
Quotes:
"Fully contemporary acoustic jazz at the highest level, with brilliant musicians who interpret and breathe her musical visions into life." - Geoffrey Keezer (pianist, composer)
"Leila Olivesi ranks alongside the greats -- Mary Lou Williams, Carla Bley, Maria Schneider." - Le Monde
Leila Olivesi: piano
Baptiste Herbin: alto saxophone
Adrien Sanchez: tenor saxophone
Jean-Charles Richard: baritone & soprano saxophones
Quentin Ghomari: trumpet
Manu Codjia: guitar
Yoni Zelnik: bass
Donald Kontomanou - drums
Guest : Camille Bertault - vocals (tracks 4 and 7 only), Poetic Birds Ensemble - vocals (tracks 8 - 11)
All composition by Leila Olivesi except: 'Little African Flower' by Duke Ellington, and 'Aurore' by L. Olivesi & D. Kontomanou.
Description
First released on CD in October 2025, African Rhapsody by French pianist Leila Olivesi now arrives on vinyl with a 7-track selection across two sides - plus an exclusive bonus track unavailable on the CD: "Ile Va Sang Dire", featuring vocalist Yete Queiroz on a poem by Michel Ducasse.
Since the CD's release, the album has earned Leila Olivesi the title of Jazz Musician of the Year 2025 (Jazz Magazine & Jazz News), a 4-star review in DownBeat (July 2026), and the Prix du Disque Francais from the Academie du Jazz - alongside a coveted CHOC rating from French publication Jazz Magazine.
A pianist of both lyrical depth and structural finesse, Leila crafts vast musical landscapes here, journeying from the light of the Sahara to the urban pulse of New York, weaving connections between Africa, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
Winner of the Django Reinhardt Prize (Academie du Jazz, 2022) and named Artist of the Year, French Mauritanian pianist, conductor and composer Leila Olivesi pays tribute to a poetic and imagined Africa with African Rhapsody. Performed by an octet featuring some of the finest musicians of her generation, this powerful declaration of love draws on the Negritude movement of the 30's, 40's and 50's by French speaking African and Caribbean subjects under French colonial rule.
Press Quotes:
"An impressively polished and varied production for octet plus vocalist and choir." - **** DownBeat
"Leila Olivesi ranks alongside the greats -- Mary Lou Williams, Carla Bley, Maria Schneider." - Le Monde
"More than a jazz record, African Rhapsody is a journey to the heart of Negritude poetry, a bridge between art forms sharing common roots." - RFI, Olivier Rogez
Tracklisting
Tracklisting
Naissam Jalal
Airelle Besson & Lionel Suarez
Naissam Jalal
Lagon Nwar
Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli
Who Parked The Car
Kourou Fia
Isabelle Olivier & Raphael Olivier
Leila Olivesi
