As a child, Ray Lema’s studied the classical music of Bach, Mozart and composers from the old European school. The eloquent production that the musician and creator has turned out over the last few decades has always crossbred African traditions with the avant-garde, but it wasn’t until two concerts he gave in 2009 that he finally combined all of his musical passions.

Twa taka Nini Ray Lema Jazz sinfonica de sao paulo (One Drop) 2011 Listen Tout sur Ray Lema

As a guest performer during the year of France in Brazil, he got together with the Jazz Sinfônica de São Paulo to rework some of his titles under the direction of João Mauricio Galindo. After listening to over one hundred of the prolific Congolese’s compositions, the conductor chose 13 of them to organise into the movements produced by a classic symphonic orchestra.

The recordings of the superb concerts performed at the Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo and conducted by the Maestro with the mischievous Lema on piano are now available on CD and DVD. The obvious complicity between the two men and the keen participation of the orchestra’s members lend a particular quality to this emotional rereading and the rearranged scores.

For the African-born musician, the experience “changed his life”, as he says during the preparatory work sessions filmed for the DVD. The singer known for his distinctively resonant voice claims to have discovered intentions and inflections in his own music that he had never heard before. More good news – the two men and the orchestra have been working on new creations since.

Ray Lema & Jazz Sinfônica de São Paulo (One Drop/Rue Stendhal) 2011

Translation by: Anne-Marie Harper