International Women in Music Day - French Jazz Composer Camille Bertault: Do You Follow Me?

Camille Bertault is an extraordinary young French composer of contemporary jazz. Here is one of her latest songs backed up by Jacky Terrason’s Trio, an excellent and seasoned French jazz artist with American roots (his dad from New Orleans). The poetry and composition is entirely hers. It’s titled “Est-ce Que Tu Me Suit?” which is a triple entendre, ‘do you follow me/are you a fan?’, ‘do you walk my path’, and ‘do you get me?’ The poetry is full of multiple meanings in the original French, along with a rhyme scheme which starts in couplets but gets more complex, entirely subordinated to the music. The phrases turn very quickly with Gallic wit and virtuosic vocalizations; the French poetry is subtle and brilliant, the whole thing a work of genius.The English translation which follows merely gives the direct meanings, doesn’t have the grace and witty wordplay of the original but suggests hints of its beauty. Here’s the song in full:Do You Follow Me? YouTube VideoJacky Terrason is an outstanding jazz artist and composer we’ve been following. Recently performed in San Francisco with his Trio. Here he provides the intro piano licks, and his Trio backs up Bertault, but the song, poem, and chord progression, the composition, is Camille’s.Here is Bertault’s poem in French, then English translation (non-rhymed but approximate meanings):Est-ce Que Tu Me Suis?“Là où se perdent les pasoù la foule se noieOù ricochent les cœurs en battement de tempsOù s échappe le ventLà où s épuise la routeDes âmes qui doutentLà où se dessinentL’ombre des échinesOù les chemins s’entassentOù s’ouvrent les impassesLà où fondent les secondesOù les toits se confondentOù la lune rougitlorsque tu lui sourisOù se coursent les rêves où les gouttes de pluiesdeviennent aquarelle est-ce que tu me suis?Là où on se prend les pieds dans des rêves en peloteoù la main de la nuitNous glisse dans sa pocheOù il ne reste plus que nos cœurs qui clignotentLà Où les étoiles tachent nosBouilles de gossesOù les boules de suie se changent en carrossesOù les chats s enamourentJusqu a ce que le jourPerce le premier nuage,Et dépose au visageUne larme gouttiereAu parfum d’eau de merPour caresser ta jouetracer le souvenird m’une nuit qui se foutDu meilleur et du pire;Là où griffent les penséesQu’on croyait envoléesOù s’orchestre la rueDe sons alambiquésOù flottent les nuéesDe rires étouffésLà où le charbon habilleLes corps enlacésOù nagent les passionsDans l’encre renverséeOu l’on repêche lesDésirs dissimulés;Là où mènent les coulissesDe nos artificesOù s ‘ouvrent les tiroirsDe nos songes en miroirsOù nos cœurs en corollesPétales de parolesQue je te chante iciEst ce que tu me suis?“🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵Literal Translations: Are You Following Me/Do You Follow Me?"There where the steps are lostwhere the crowd drowns in itselfWhere hearts ricochet in the beat of timeWhere the wind escapes,where the road ends inSouls who doubt where they are drawn to;The shadow of the spineswhere the paths pile upWhere dead ends open,where the seconds meltWhere the roofs merge,where the moon blushes when you smile at it;Where do the dreams runWhere the raindrops become watercolorsDo you follow me?Where we get stuck in dreamsLike a ball when the hand of nightSlips us into his pocket;Where there's nothing leftBut our blinkered heartsWhere the stars stain our childlike facesWhere balls of soot turn into carriagesWhere cats fall in loveUntil the day pierces the first cloud,And drops in the faceA teardrop with the scent of seawaterTo caress your cheek, trace the memoryA night that doesn't give a damnFor the best and the worst;Where thoughts claw, that we thought had flown awayWhere the street is orchestratedwith convoluted sounds,Where the clouds float with stifled laughter,Where coal covers the entwined bodiesWhere passions swim in spilled inkWhere we fish out hidden desires;Where the backstage leads to our artificesWhere the drawers openTo our mirrored dreamsWhere our hearts lie in corollas,Petals of words that I sing to you hereDo you follow me?”For pure Classical chops, here is Camille doing the upper part of the Goldberg Variations, amazing (move over, Swingle Singers): YouTube VideoAnd here she is with David Helbock, performing a concert set at the Strandpark in Germany, on the Baltic Coast (btw she speaks French, English, Portuguese fluently, and some German. End of the set she does a Bossa Nova rap in fluent Portuguese). At about 22:35 see how she physically performs the Goldberg, her elocution and rhythmic movement are perfect, each beat in the center of the rhythm. She could be a Classical conductor if she wished. And what a fine young composer already! Unquestionably one of the greatest jazz singers and writers of the new generation: YouTube VideoHelbock is gifted too, as you will see. Geniuses combining their talent in extraordinary compositions. Set starts with a very languorous recitative over a minor 7th-chord ostinato with harmonics, then picks up the pace. Note the vocal harmonics with the two microphones. Lots of training and skill to sing overtone harmonics, it's a tour de force of vocal technique. At about 7:30 she explains the inception of all these pieces. Then they do some classic-style slow swing, then some incredible scat singing, then Bach’s Goldberg. Then an improvisation in Baroque style, all theirs, with some French rap on musical technique! Then some brilliant contempo French jazz, also theirs, then their variation of a ‘Dancer in the Dark’ tune in English, and the Brazilian set, amazing, haunting writing. Her voice quality and technique is astonishing.In some of her interviews Bertault talks about the hypomania that drives many artists, and how she was able to channel it. As a student she assiduously practiced Debussy and Ravel, possibly the most difficult jazz-like modern classical repertoire for piano. So when she graduated she was a polished musician of exceptional talent. Trained rigorously in the classics, she fell in love with jazz and at 29 is already an awesome composer-performer. What she might be like in 10 or 20 years is probably magisterial, because older musicians don't fade away, they improve like fine wine.🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵 Perhaps she will be the next Lily Boulanger , first woman composer to win the prestigious Prix de Rome in multiple categories [for extraordinary pieces like Faust et Helene or Psalm 130, a salute to her father and to her mentor Debussy - a sophisticated and profound symphony+chorus that rivals Debussy in voice-leading and orchestration]. Or she might turn out to be the next Nadia Boulanger, Lily's sister who was also a female composer and conductor of renown who held her own in a male-dominated field last century. First woman to conduct both the London and New York Phil, as well as a UK Royal Philharmonic concert series, and the Philadelphia and Boston Philharmonics. She became an extraordinarily influential teacher of 20th-century composers, both sides of the pond. Her famous students included Igor Stravinsky, Virgil Thompson, Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland and Quincy Jones. Copland said "Nadia knew everything there was to know about music, from Gregorian Chant to Avant-Garde. It was all at her fingertips." Jones says she taught him "to be great, your music must honestly come from who you are as a person".🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵Vive Camille! Vive les artistes exceptionelles!

Camille Bertault is an extraordinary young French composer of contemporary jazz. Here is one of her latest songs backed up by Jacky Terrason’s Trio, an excellent and seasoned French jazz artist with American roots (his dad from New Orleans). The poetry and composition is entirely hers.

It’s titled “ Est-ce Que Tu Me Suit? ” which is a triple entendre, ‘do you follow me/are you a fan?’, ‘do you walk my path’, and ‘do you get me?’ The poetry is full of multiple meanings in the original French, along with a rhyme scheme which starts in couplets but gets more complex, entirely subordinated to the music. The phrases turn very quickly with Gallic wit and virtuosic vocalizations; the French poetry is subtle and brilliant, the whole thing a work of genius. The English translation which follows merely gives the direct meanings, doesn’t have the grace and witty wordplay of the original but suggests hints of its beauty.

Here’s the song in full: Do You Follow Me? x x YouTube Video Jacky Terrason is an outstanding jazz artist and composer we’ve been following. Recently performed in San Francisco with his Trio. Here he provides the intro piano licks, and his Trio backs up Bertault, but the song, poem, and chord progression, the composition, is Camille’s.

Here is Bertault’s poem in French, then English translation (non-rhymed but approximate meanings): Est-ce Que Tu Me Suis? “Là où se perdent les pas où la foule se noie Où ricochent les cœurs en battement de temps Où s échappe le vent Là où s épuise la route Des âmes qui doutent Là où se dessinent L’ombre des échines Où les chemins s’entassent Où s’ouvrent les impasses Là où fondent les secondes Où les toits se confondent Où la lune rougit lorsque tu lui souris Où se coursent les rêves où les gouttes de pluies deviennent aquarelle est-ce que tu me suis? Là où on se prend les pieds dans des rêves en pelote où la main de la nuit Nous glisse dans sa poche Où il ne reste plus que nos cœurs qui clignotent Là Où les étoiles tachent nos Bouilles de gosses Où les boules de suie se changent en carrosses Où les chats s enamourent Jusqu a ce que le jour Perce le premier nuage, Et dépose au visage Une larme gouttiere Au parfum d’eau de mer Pour caresser ta joue tracer le souvenir d m’une nuit qui se fout Du meilleur et du pire; Là où griffent les pensées Qu’on croyait envolées Où s’orchestre la rue De sons alambiqués Où flottent les nuées De rires étouffés Là où le charbon habille Les corps enlacés Où nagent les passions Dans l’encre renversée Ou l’on repêche les Désirs dissimulés; Là où mènent les coulisses De nos artifices Où s ‘ouvrent les tiroirs De nos songes en miroirs Où nos cœurs en corolles Pétales de paroles Que je te chante ici Est ce que tu me suis?“ 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵 Literal Translations: Are You Following Me/Do You Follow Me? "There where the steps are lost where the crowd drowns in itself Where hearts ricochet in the beat of time Where the wind escapes, where the road ends in Souls who doubt where they are drawn to; The shadow of the spines where the paths pile up Where dead ends open, where the seconds melt Where the roofs merge, where the moon blushes w hen you smile at it; Where do the dreams run Where the raindrops become watercolors Do you follow me? Where we get stuck in dreams Like a ball when the hand of night Slips us into his pocket; Where there's nothing left But our blinkered hearts Where the stars stain our childlike faces Where balls of soot turn into carriages Where cats fall in love Until the day pierces the first cloud, And drops in the face A teardrop with the scent of seawater To caress your cheek, trace the memory A night that doesn't give a damn For the best and the worst; Where thoughts claw, that we thought had flown away Where the street is orchestrated with convoluted sounds, Where the clouds float with stifled laughter, Where coal covers the entwined bodies Where passions swim in spilled ink Where we fish out hidden desires; Where the backstage leads to our artifices Where the drawers open To our mirrored dreams Where our hearts lie in corollas, Petals of words that I sing to you here Do you follow me?” For pure Classical chops, here is Camille doing the upper part of the Goldberg Variations , amazing (move over, Swingle Singers): x x YouTube Video And here she is with David Helbock , performing a concert set at the Strandpark in Germany , on the Baltic Coast (btw she speaks French, English, Portuguese fluently, and some German. End of the set she does a Bossa Nova rap in fluent Portuguese). At about 22:35 see how she physically performs the Goldberg, her elocution and rhythmic movement are perfect, each beat in the center of the rhythm.

She could be a Classical conductor if she wished. And what a fine young composer already! Unquestionably one of the greatest jazz singers and writers of the new generation: x x YouTube Video Helbock is gifted too, as you will see. Geniuses combining their talent in extraordinary compositions.

Set starts with a very languorous recitative over a minor 7th-chord ostinato with harmonics, then picks up the pace. Note the vocal harmonics with the two microphones. Lots of training and skill to sing overtone harmonics, it's a tour de force of vocal technique.

At about 7:30 she explains the inception of all these pieces. Then they do some classic-style slow swing, then some incredible scat singing, then Bach’s Goldberg. Then an improvisation in Baroque style, all theirs, with some French rap on musical technique! Then some brilliant contempo French jazz, also theirs, then their variation of a ‘Dancer in the Dark’ tune in English, and the Brazilian set, amazing, haunting writing.

Her voice quality and technique is astonishing. In some of her interviews Bertault talks about the hypomania that drives many artists, and how she was able to channel it. As a student she assiduously practiced Debussy and Ravel, possibly the most difficult jazz-like modern classical repertoire for piano.

So when she graduated she was a polished musician of exceptional talent. Trained rigorously in the classics, she fell in love with jazz and at 29 is already an awesome composer-performer. What she might be like in 10 or 20 years is probably magisterial, because older musicians don't fade away, they improve like fine wine.

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵 Perhaps she will be the next Lily Boulanger , first woman composer to win the prestigious Prix de Rome in multiple categories [for extraordinary pieces like Faust et Helene or Psalm 130 , a salute to her father and to her mentor Debussy - a sophisticated and profound symphony+chorus that rivals Debussy in voice-leading and orchestration]. Or she might turn out to be the next Nadia Boulanger , Lily's sister who was also a female composer and conductor of renown who held her own in a male-dominated field last century. First woman to conduct both the London and New York Phil, as well as a UK Royal Philharmonic concert series, and the Philadelphia and Boston Philharmonics.

She became an extraordinarily influential teacher of 20th-century composers, both sides of the pond. Her famous students included Igor Stravinsky, Virgil Thompson, Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland and Quincy Jones. Copland said "Nadia knew everything there was to know about music, from Gregorian Chant to Avant-Garde.

It was all at her fingertips." Jones says she taught him "to be great, your music must honestly come from who you are as a person". 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵 Vive Camille! Vive les artistes exceptionelles!.