French saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave, born in 1983, began his early musical studies with classical saxophonist Christian Charnay and with Thierry Girault in Annecy, before moving to Paris, to continue his studies at the national conservatory (CNSM) with a focus on jazz and improvised music.
After two leader dates on other labels, Bordenave made his ECM debut on the 2018 Shinya Fukumori recording For 2 Akis, alongside pianist Walter Lang. His leader-debut for ECM, La traversée (2020), saw him in the company of pianist Florian Weber and bassist Patrice Moret, creating what Jazzwise magazine called “a graceful river of sound. As serene and meditative as this music may be it also has bursts, or rather flickers of energy and bold, focused, fluid movement, invigorating all the atmospheric counterpoint.”
The saxophonist’s second leader recording sees drummer James Maddren joining his La traversée-trio and will be released in early 2024. (Press release)

The saxophonist has a wonderful tone, and as one would expect with an ECM recording of this nature, the sound quality is superb, allowing the sax, piano and bass to explore and create intimate atmospheres of sound. There is an open quality to the trio that I really like the three musicians appear well suited to one another, with a quiet yet compelling imagination flowing through the entire session. Nine original pieces by Bordenave offer much to enjoy. There is a sense of complexity to the music that on initial listening could leave the listener curious, yet not entirely bowled over. It takes time to appreciate some of the subtleties and nuances within the tunes, and a little more effort than usual perhaps. But it’s well worth giving it that time, as the more one listens, the more compelling and beguiling it undoubtedly becomes. (Mike Gates, UK Vibe)