It's no secret that Franco-American relations have been strained in recent years, but French filmmaker Klaus Tontine and New Orleans-based progressives Garage a Trois have little interest in wasting time on the perceived diplomatic stature of one nation compared to another. In that transcendent space where jazz and the cinematic arts come together, size is nothing more than a state of mind. Garage a Trois--vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon, guitarist Charlie Hunter, drummer Stanton Moore, and saxophonist Skerik--have crafted a brilliant soundtrack to Tontine's Outre Mer, an understated cinematic masterpiece that spans the lifetime of a brave but solitary figure and subtly illuminates the alternating joys and sorrows of isolation, parental devotion, romantic love and other universal themes that reach out to every shore.
Producer/director Klaus Tontine, a longtime fan of GAT's eclectic, cosmopolitan approach to jazz, funk and other styles, first approached the quartet in the summer of 2004, when the film--still just an idea in his head--had yet to be lensed. GAT completely embraced the concept, and crafted a compelling musical backdrop to the poignant story of Etienne de Nerval, a young man coming of age in rural France who is ostracized from society due to his diminutive stature. Reaching a maximum of only four feet, he commits every ounce of creative, intellectual and emotional energy to finding the one place in the world where he can be accepted and loved for who he is. Garage a Trois' soundtrack weaves a brilliant tapestry on a par with Tontine's stirring cinematic imagery. Like the film's resourceful protagonist, the four players aim every ounce of their own individual and collective energies at creative excellence. The resulting recording--which synthesizes a variety of world music sensibilities--never falls short.
