Sascha Ley & Laurent Payfert present the subtle art of combining vocals and double bass.
Based on mutual musical affinities, Luxembourg based vocalist, improviser, actress and poet and her congenial fellow musician from France open the doors to a special kind of sound journey that blends free improvisation, written and instant compositions with familiar sonorities.
Dreamlike and suggestive soundscapes, experiments, sound painting, the use of extended vocal and instrumental techniques as well as narrative art take the audience to an always surprising, inviting and spirited experience off the beaten track.
"Exceptional music. A very beautiful duo. An astonishing and fascinating voice ... in extraordinary harmony with Laurent Payfert. Superb." - La nuit des sauriens, Radio Stolliahc
"Sascha Ley is a multiple talent: actress, director, and of course jazz vocalist. In the duo with the French bassist Laurent Payfert, she designs a fascinating modern jazz with a multifaceted alto voice." - JAZZTHING
"It’s Alright To Be Everywhere, which has been released by JazzHausMusik turns out to be quite nice. Ley has a definite style on her own developed as singer, actress, poet and composer, while Payfert has a typical wonderful European style and sound. Inspired by those wonderful Sheila Jordan duet albums, but takes a different direction." - One Man’s Jazz
"The Luxembourgish-French duo Sascha Ley & Laurent Payfert offers often wordless, varied vocals in combination with a free melodic double bass. Although their dialogues are based on compositions, they both deal with them strongly improvisational. Ley’s Scat and avant-garde extroverted vocal arts add continuously new overlays to which Payfert adds minimalistic sound sculptures with his four-string. Very unique and absolutely captivating!" - Olaf Maikopf, Jazzthetik
"The two musicians have achieved their goal, the album sounds very organic, forming a very uniform and integrated whole. Like a concept album. No hard cuts, everything flows into each other and the audience can listen to the purist soundscapes unfolding in front of them or soak the work in and take off for a personal contemplative journey. The music is a mixture of jazz compositional standards and free improvisation ... a serious exploration of the depths and shallows of life in and of itself." - Martina Folscheid, Télécran
: BIOGRAPHY
Sascha Ley combines an acting and music career. The multi-language vocalist, composer, actress and poet likes walking along unconventional paths in her musical output embracing free and jazz improvisation, imaginary folklore, contemporary music and reaching out for extended vocal techniques. Sascha studied in Amsterdam, Bombay, Luxembourg and Saarbrücken, and is a passionate traveller which frequently reflects in her desire for adventurous ventures in her artistic undertakings. In parallel with music, drama and film works, she has devoted herself in recent years increasingly to composing and writing, creating and directing interdisciplinary performances.
Laurent Payfer, French double bass player and composer, has been trained in classical music at the Conservatoire de Metz (F). Playing as a bassist in rock and funk bands, he got into jazz and improvised music by the end of the 1980ies, stylistically influenced by encounters with Hein Van De Geyn, Ricardo Del Fra and Steve Lacy among others. Besides the duo and his "Laurent Payfert Quartet", he performs as a sideman in various ensembles (e.g. Jeff Herr Corporation) and collaborates with stage artists and sculptors.
