Album guide
Bizet: Carmen in Jazz
- Composer
- Bizet
- Released
- 2023
- Label
- Blue Room Music
- Forces
- Saxophone, Quartet
- Personnel
- John Ellis saxophones and bass clarinet, Gary Versace piano, Reuben Rogers bass, Jason Marsalis drums
Commissioned for a Carmen-themed St Barts Music Festival, the suite lets each number dictate its own line-up.
The Toreador Song moves from tenor saxophone in the minor-key verse to soprano in the major refrain; the Card Song puts the melody on bass clarinet and leaves the drums out altogether.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- HabaneraCarmen, Act I: Habanera, ‘L’amour est un oiseau rebelle’
- SeguidillaCarmen, Act I: Seguidilla, ‘Près des remparts de Séville’
- Flower SongCarmen, Act II: Flower Song, ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’
- ToreadorCarmen, Act II: Couplets du toréador, ‘Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre’ (Toreador Song)
- Gypsy SongCarmen, Act II: Chanson bohème, ‘Les tringles des sistres tintaient’
- Card SongCarmen, Act III: Card aria, ‘En vain pour éviter’