Paris Dreaming – Rue De Cotte

Paris Dreaming – Rue de Cotte CD review by Roger Holdsworth, Presenter, Global Village, PBS-FM 106.7, Melbourne
When four Australian CDs arrive in the same week, all referencing Paris, there’s a defi nite trend happening. Maybe it’s a desire for distant romance, or the sweet wildness of a dreamt French gypsy night. Maybe it’s the Hot Club reconstructed through imagination. Paris Dreaming consists of Ewan Mackenzie on guitar and Kay Sullivan on accordion. “Rue de Cotte” is their third CD, transporting us once again to a Paris café scene that draws on musette waltzes and gypsy jazz – a café scene that may no longer exist except for tourists, but one that lives on in this duo’s nostalgia and dreaming. While their bodies might be playing this music in Queensland, the souls and passions of Paris Dreaming are fi rmly located in the boulevardes of the French capital. This passion means that they not only provide faithful interpretations of Piaf and Django Reinhardt, but also write and play their own material in sympathetic styles that indicate a deep understanding of their manouche heroes. The musical infl uences of Ewan and Kay complement each other well, showcasing a precision of playing and a passionate embodiment of the music’s spirit. While Ewan draws on his experiences with Doch in Australia and with manouche guitarists in Holland, Kay brings the fl avours and colours of Australian bush dances to this liaison. Together they circle and waltz around a shared love. What results is the warm and authentic sound of other boulevardes and avenues. It will perhaps surprise listeners to recognise that almost all tracks on this CD are self-penned rather than covers and this reinforces their immersion in and understanding of this musical form. Here they re-invent Paris in the Australian imagination.