"Can I settle down? »We ask, a little uncomfortable, as if we were disturbing. Stone walls, a small wooden table with white flowers and a discernible discomfort despite the darkness. " Yes go ahead. It's good, ”replied the saxophonist softly with a nervous laugh. Each evening, like him, a musician performs five minutes in front of a single spectator at the La Gare jazz club in Paris (19th century), while awaiting authorization to reopen the performance halls. No stage, but a simple red carpet with two meters between them.
So, we sit on the seat without really knowing how to stand. Fortunately there he is already, who, with his eyes closed, begins some notes. Very quickly, they resonate in the cellar. Enough to give us some chills. Because we are caught up, motionless, as out of fear that everything will stop, by this magnetic, spontaneous piece. We watch him play, so crowded under his beret, but we are quickly no longer quite there. The melody ceases, reconnecting us to reality. Too fast. We applaud, alone, before going up the steps. With this strange feeling, that of minutes stolen, of rare intimacy.
"It's free participation, everyone gives what they want"
What a contrast to the hustle and bustle at the exit! There, where we meet customers, beers in hand, ready to assault the terrace, and among them, Julien de Casabianca, the manager, who chat with a few. “This is the first solo concert today, with students from the CNM (the National Conservatory of Music) . I will organize it every evening until we have the authorization to do it in normal gauge. It's free participation, everyone gives what they want. And no need for a mask, unlike the other rooms in the club, since the spectators are alone ”, he notes, glancing satisfied at the curious who observe the pass.
Because here we wait for our turn. "Do we have time for a beer or not?" Asks a brown man, putting his first name on the list. Isma, leaf in hand, manages the call of the lucky ones. He scrutinizes him suspiciously. "Yes, but set an alarm! Warns the big guy before squinting at the crowded tables: "Where's Marie?" But who are these people who do not sound their alarm? They are going to have a drink and I see them more on time. "
"Fortunately, improvising is the DNA of jazz"
Opposite, Rebecca, who is patient, chuckles: “It feels like an exam! "And Isma grumbles, good child, tapping the closed door:" What is going on in there then say? The musicians are a little late. They have to chat with their solo audience. "
On the terrace, we spot Noé, the accordionist. He just played. So he enjoys his improvised evening from start to finish. "We were called yesterday. Fortunately, improvising is the DNA of jazz, he laughs, before debriefing this particular moment. It was destabilizing the first seconds, I did not know how to position myself because we are very close to the public. Some argue at the start, others at the end. In terms of practice, it's more tiring because you have to be constant and dynamic with each new arrival. "
"Am I going to choose my songs according to his head?"
Further on, Pierre, saxophonist, prepares him to descend. "I want to play too much," he stamps, asking a lot of questions. Will I choose my songs according to his head? Will I fix it? I don't know, it's new to me. »Questions about the face-to-face that also tease ... Rebecca. "Will he ignore me? I have never lived in concert like that, ”breathes the 19-year-old young woman.
Five minutes is a lot of comings and goings. You would almost get lost between those who "saw" and the others, so many new faces appear from the entrances. "The guitarist came to pick me up at the bottom of the stairs," Carine says. It's funny: he asked me how he could settle in relation to me. Each service is unique. What a joy to see the resources of the performing arts! "
At this moment, Rebecca comes out of the cellar, bright. “I was afraid of making noise. When I put my bag down, it clicked with an echo. I did not know where to put myself, "she laughed, before resuming, animated:" Once it starts, you are like in a bubble. We enter his universe. It's almost sacred. It is not really a concert, but rather an experience. I will remember it all my life. "
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La Gare, 1, avenue Corentin-Cariou (Paris XIX). Open from 6 p.m. to 1 or 2 a.m. Concerts from 9 p.m. Free participation.
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