Imagine John Coltrane playing with Rage Against The Machine, Ravi Shankar jamming with Pink Floyd or Amon Tobin remixing a New Orleans fanfare… OZMA is a supercharged quintet led by drummer Stéphane Scharlé. A music both adventurous and accessible that the group has been able to share through 8 albums, multiple creations and more than 450 concerts on 4 continents.
Impressive athlete with ceaseless energy, armed with a personality which charms through its dynamism. He is the supervisor of nuance and narration. He pulls the group from piano to forte with only the force of his drumsticks; a sensitive and crystalline colorist with lightning reflexes. Under the hood, he has a motor made of metal and granite which roars of telluric rock, which he unleashes only when necessary.
A weakness for science fiction, a love of the imaginary, he loves losing himself in stories that excite the neurons and that much is audible. Ingenious architect, his bass is endlessly inventing harmonic progressions which alter the baroque and push and shove the pop versions. Between serious lows and bantering high notes, he unchains the soloists, occasionally scolding them; he inserts himself in phrases extracted from the earth and softens their landing by creating large, comfortable spaces.
Formidable ping-pong player, gastronomic expert, he eats up music in momentous proportions, he is delighted and nourished by it. He plays what he hears and he hears quite a bit. Once he has his sax in hand, his implication is total. His discourse is personal and singular, a powerful proposition without being overbearing. Eloquent and funny, on stage he is like he is when hosting a dinner: generous and gluttonous, perhaps a bit moody, yet assuredly moving.
Olympian handyman, insatiable partier, Bond-like seducer, each note of his trombone hits the bullseye. His groove is relentless, his lyricism is poignant, and he juggles the obvious, the appropriate and the exact and never misses. His trombone has a suave and delicate touch but he also knows how to “peel the wallpaper off the walls” when he has to! His perfect pitch serves his roaring horn.
Tireless orator, politics and history buff, this English guitarist dreams music, lives in an immense interior world from which emerges an incorruptible and fuliginous musical thought. With his sort of convulsive, calming beauty, he astonishes through his stupefying, volcanic virtuosity. Still, his naïve pop accompaniments are reassuring, enveloping the group’s sound in his passionate universe.
