Parisien's Third Season Opens New Ground
A restless, searching record that refuses to settle into comfortable patterns or easy melodies.
Saison 3 arrived in 2017 as Émile Parisien's most ambitious statement yet—a record that moved past the lyrical soprano saxophone work he'd built his name on and into something more abstract and challenging. The album didn't land with immediate fanfare, but it found serious listeners in the European jazz community who recognized it as a genuine departure. This was Parisien resisting the role of the charming melodist and instead building something that demanded attention.
The core of the album is Parisien and Roberto Negro on piano, a duet format that strips away everything but the essential conversation between the two players. Negro's approach is not accompaniment—it's commentary, interruption, provocation. The music moves through sections that feel almost compositional in their precision, then dissolves into free exchange where neither player follows obvious rules. Parisien's soprano cuts sharp and sometimes raw, less interested in beauty than in investigation. Tracks breathe unevenly. Silences matter. This is not background music.
The record's strength lies in its refusal to announce itself. Listeners who picked it up expecting the warm, accessible Parisien of earlier work found something more demanding. Over time, it's become clearer that Saison 3 represents a genuine artistic reckoning—the point where Parisien decided mastery of craft was less interesting than the risk of failure. It remains uncompromising and occasionally frustrating, which is exactly what makes it worth revisiting.
Who's playing
Roberto Negropiano
Émile Parisiensoprano saxophone
