Eastern Spring by Madeleine & Salomon

“With claws, a touch of balm, and then claws again, the duo awakens the senses. They tell and share stories of love, grief, and pain with infinite tenderness, enveloped in a distant and unique jazz. Truly moving.”

JAZZQUES (BE) - Jacques Prouvost

“A rich concept that revolves around the roles of protagonist and accompanist, combined with the dark, fleshy tone of the singer and the elegant phrasing of the pianist, it gives rise to exchanges, flexibility, lyricism, and expressive depth.”

EL DIARO AR (ES) - Diego Fischerman

Alexandre Saada's skillful piano performance, combined with Clotilde Rullaud's flute, offers a sound that transports to a mystical world. Madeleine & Salomon's exotic and soulful vocals by Clotilde Rullaud leave a lasting impression in this remarkable piece.”

THE WALKER'S (JP) - Masayuki Koito

“The result is a minimalist yet essential work, reminiscent in certain aspects of 'The Newest Sound Around,' the legendary pas de deux by Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake. (...) A small but great album.”

MUSICA JAZZ (IT) - Ivo Franchi

"Most of the texts have been translated into English, sometimes into French (...) however, there are still some rhymes and something inseparable from the melodic turns of the region, all interpreted with modesty and dignity, with the voice of Clotilde Rulaud that is not without recalling Nina Simone, but in a very natural way, without any mimicry."

JAZZ MAGAZINE (FR) - Franck Bergerot

“An inspired, left-of-conventional merger, Madeleine & Salomon [...] brings an adventurous pan-Mediterranean approach to the voice-piano fabric of Eastern spring (Tzig’Art)[...] with its focus on freedom and protest songs, sometimes leaning into the realm of art pop and musical theater, with jazz elastics in the mix.”

JAZZIZ (USA) - Josef Woodard

“There are some wonderful songs to discover and rediscover here, not least the set closer ‘Do you love me?’ by the Lebanese Bendaly Family, which is given a yearningly minimalist treatment by the duo."

JAZZWISE (UK) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Robert Shore

“A soulful, consistent, audacious album. A beautiful journey.”

RTBF (BE) - Le monde est un village - Didier Mélon

"These twin hearts beat so strongly and burn with such passion for the East, it’s impossible not to adore this jewel of a record.”

TELERAMA - TTTT & Grands Crus 2022 - Louis-Julien Nicolaou

“The minimalist, protest duo release their second album, Easter Spring, and it's beautiful.”

LE SOIR (BE) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Jean-Claude Vantroyen

“It’s a distinctive, creative and very original album, drawing all the songs together in the duo’s own style.”

LONDON JAZZ NEWS (UK) - Alison Bentley

"Folk songs of ancient traditions or modern political movements, are refreshed here by modernizing songs of little-known repertoires thanks to excellent expressive renditions."

IL MANIFESTO (IT) - Guido Michelone

"It’s never overdone: a contemplative ethos flows in and out of music. (...) A striking and special project, this.”

JAZZ JOURNAL (UK) - Michael Tucker

“Impressionist poetry. (…) An essential record in this time of war and repression committed against people daring to demand a freer society.”

FIP - Catherine Carette

"A magnificent constellation!"

FRANCE CULTURE - Par les temps qui courent - Marie Richeux

“A waking dream, fragile and intimate. A great success!”

TSF

"A mix of jazz, folk and psychedelic rock tears the songs between two worlds and adds tension and a fascinating intensity to the album. The nine songs form an evocative whole, rich in emotions."

JAZZ PORT (CZ) - 4,5/5 - Jan Hocek

"The duo returns with a superb album, variations on a repertoire from the Mediterranean basin. […] An art of dialogue, a great deal of freedom."

POLITIS - Pauline Guedj

“This beautiful and deeply human record will be one of this year’s must-haves, that’s for sure.”

CITIZEN JAZZ - SELECTED! & BEST OF 2022 - Denis Desassis

“A remarkable achievement.”

JAZZ NEWS- A MUST-HAVE & BEST OF 2022 - Pierre Tenne

"A unique, strong, emotional album that leaves no one indifferent"

FRANCE MUSIQUE - BEST OF 2022 - Open Jazz - Alex Dutilh

"With their powerfully crafted voices and impressive piano playing, they bring back songs, themes and hits from Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Israel and address them to our unconditioned ears. For there is nothing more beautiful than listening to Matar Naem, a poem by the immensely talented Mahmoud Darwich, a protest anthem by the group Ferkat Al-Ard, which this unique duo finally makes available to the whole world."

JAZZ MAGAZINE - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ & BEST OF 2022 - Guy Darol

"Anyone who doesn't have goosebumps listening to Clotilde Rullaud's warm, inhabited voice or Alexandre Saada's melodic piano under tension should raise their finger!"

CITIZEN JAZZ - SELECTED! - Denis Desassis

"A voice, a piano and lots and lots of emotion. Where does it come from? The sincerity of the voice of Clotilde Rullaud (Madeleine) and piano of Alexandre Saada (Salomon). But also new repertoire, consisting of oriental pop songs from the 60s and 70s. Translated, restored and revived by the duo, they give off a very pure breath to make the driest Arabian desert cry."

TELERAMA SORTIR - TTTT - Louis-Julien Nicolaou

“Madeleine & Salomon's music fits the perfect crossroads of languages and countries, where melancholy and minimalism are its defining qualities, taking us very far. I will have my ears ready when the two perform from now on."

NETTAVISEN (NO) - Tor Hammerø

"Eastern spring is spring, an oriental spring of revolution that refers to all those springs that led to calamitous autumns with a Mediterranean repertoire from the 60s and 70s, recoloured by the piano-voice duo Madeleine and Salomon."

RFI - Musiques du monde - Laurence Aloir

"The great comeback of the French duo who blew us away in 2016"

FRANCE MUSIQUE - BanZZaï - BEST OF 2022 - Nathalie Piolé

“There’s the same fervor in both the voice and the piano, which underpins the text with a driving subtlety.”

MEDIAPART - Jean-Jacques Birgé

"When you walk into a Madeleine & Salomon album, there are dreams stuck to your shoes. […] A magnificent extension and a declaration of love to a music of worldwide inspiration. If your heart isn't pounding after this, you're missing organs."

SUNSHIP – Franpi

"Remarkable and lovely!"

VALLEY FREE RADIO WXOJ-LP (USA) - Jubilation Jazz - Ken Irwin

"Madeleine & Salomon, the duo that illuminates the oriental pop of the 1960s and 1970s. In their masterful album 'Eastern Spring' […] politics, eroticism… everything vibrates, carried by a powerful emotion."

Télérama - TTTT - Louis-Julien Nicolaou