Gad Elmaleh returns where we do not expect him. In Toulouse and as a singer. And he takes risks. The 49-year-old comedian and actor tackles an Occitan mountain, Claude Nougaro. A twelve-cover album titled "Dance on Me" will be released on November 20 on jazz label Blue Note. The first single, "Armstrong", will be unveiled on September 4, a few days before the birthday of the singer from Toulouse, who died in 2004 in Paris.
Gad Elmaleh presented for the first time "Armstrong" and five other covers in public Monday evening at Maison Nougaro, the barge created and run by his daughter, Cécile Nougaro. For his first steps as a singer, he was nervous. "The last time I played in Toulouse, it was in a Zénith of 6,000 people and I was less afraid", he admits on the small stage of the barge, where he performs surrounded by three jazz musicians, Jérémy Habadou on the piano… from Nougaro, Thomas Bramerie on the double bass and Philippe Maniez on the drums.
"Not a tribute, a declaration of love"
In this charming place of memory, in front of a small and masked public of guests, he first tells between humor and gravity his “fascination since childhood” for Nougaro. The first shock at 4 years old in Casablanca with precisely “Armstrong” turning on an uncle's turntable. Their first and only meeting on a TV set. “I had fun writing texts by wanting to be like him and one day, when I was 20 years old, a young comedian and actor, I found myself with him on an Isabelle Giordano show. She had given him one of my texts, he appeared and he read it. No need to tell you my emotion. I was upset. "
Monday evening, Gad Elmaleh is also moved. "What we are doing today is not a tribute, it is a declaration of love," he announces. He begins piano with "Dance on me" and "Armstrong". He recorded the album this summer. Tonight, he makes his debut as a singer on stage. His voice and interpretation are still uncertain. As a diligent student fearing going off the road as much as the pale copy of the master, he delivers his first grades a bit scholarly, sometimes a glance at his texts.
His versions of "Don Juan" and "Cinema" and especially "Nougayork" and "Toulouse" are more original and embodied. Carried by excellent musicians who make Nougaro's words swing, and by subtle arrangements, it is more comfortable and relaxed. The more the concert goes on, the more he enjoys it. U.S. too.
For a good half hour, he introduces the songs by telling his passion for jazz - he hosted a show on TSF Jazz during the confinement -, and the enormous influence of Nougaro on his writing. “This project was born thanks to this young talented pianist, Jérémy Habadou,” he explains. It had to be a show and then the coronavirus happened. It became an album. This summer the studio has been a great training school for me with great musicians. »He recorded two duets with Thomas Dutronc and Angélique Kidjo, three titles with a big band and received prestigious guests, the trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, the accordionist Richard Galliano, the guitarist Biréli Lagrène…
"Who am I to take Nougaro back"
In the audience, Nougaro's discreet daughter, Cécile, is moved. "It's a special moment, the first time the barge has opened since the arrival of the coronavirus," she said in her soft voice. And it's a delight that it's with Gad. As if a good fairy had come to our house. With him, we spent two intense days. I really like what he does because he offers something all his own. I like the way he approached my father, with a lot of sensitivity, tenderness and humility. You can't hear my dad in his voice and that's great. With its musicians, they invented their language. And like him, I don't like the word homage either. It is as if the living are celebrating death. And my father was so alive… ”
The showcase finished, Gad Elmaleh admits: “I was very very intimidated, it's not easy to sing here, in front of your daughter and her friends. There is a who am I side to take Nougaro back … But I do it with all my heart and all my soul. It's the first time that I sing, I could have done it long before, I waited for a really sincere and deep project. The title of the album sums up what I want to do, dance on Nougaro. "
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"No one forgets my father but it's good that someone like Gad brings his songs to life," recognizes Cécile Nougaro, who will reopen her barge to the public in September. I am happy for my father. "