SUNDAY 24 | She’s an African-born French jazz singer famed for pop experimentalism, recording an album with Dizzy Gillespie’s drummer, being signed to the same label as junior UK jazz genius Jamie Cullum and touring with Afrocentric sax legend Archie Shepp. He’s a pianist/singer/trumpet player/composer/conductor/actor/writer/teacher/showman/comedian who has performed at Manhattan’s music monument Carnegie Hall, written film scores such as Le Courage D’Aimer (‘The Courage To Love’) and caused something of a stir when he appeared in front of the camera for the first time in a recent film by what might just be France’s most famous director. Mina Agossi and Laurent Couson, who’ve been circling each other in the international jazz ring for more than a decade, are finally coming together for a Southeast Asia tour. Expect the unexpectable: the duo are ratcheting up the suspense factor by promising a high-end evening of one-off, never-heard-before, kind-of-made-up-on-the-spot jazz improv – organised by Phnom Penh’s very own jazz leviathan, Philippe Javelle – within the historic confines of the city’s most distinguished hotel. Nice. Laurent Couson put down his baton briefly to tell The Advisor about his plans for the night: “Mina had been following me for many years. She’s probably the most famous jazz singer in France; she wins all the jazz awards. She kept telling me: ‘We have to do something together!’ I was trying to think what we do, because we’re very different in the type of music we like and the way we play. We have the same bass player, Eric Jacquot, who has been playing with us for 15 years. Eric arranged this. He said: ‘Now let’s go on the road together and see what happens.’ So the only thing I can say to you tonight is that I don’t know what’s going to happen! [Laughs] Let’s see, because I really don’t know what’s going to happen!”
WHO: Laurent Couson and Mina Agossi
WHAT: A very special evening of live, off-the-cuff jazz with two of France’s finest
WHERE: Grand Ballroom, Raffles Le Royal, Daun Penh Street & Monivong Boulevard
WHEN: 5pm November 24
WHY: One-off, never-heard-before, kind-of-made-up-on-the-spot jazz improv