UNE SAISON EN ENFER (A SEASON IN HELL)/ Wangaratta Jazz Festival

A Season In Hell (Une Saison En Enfer) is the latest Rimbaud inspired work from the Allan Browne Quintet. Dedicated to recording and performing original, contemporary jazz, this distinguished Quintet includes the prolific and highly respected Allan Browne, the extraordinary compositional talents of Geoff Hughes and Eugene Ball, notable double bass player Nick Haywood and accomplished alto sax man, Philip Noy Over 18 months, the Quintet developed and recorded these pieces, inspired by Rimbaud’s last work. For years the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud has mesmerized Allan Browne with his prose and precocious genius. This is the sequel to the Quintet’s 2007 release The Drunken Boat, Rimbaud’s best known, 25-verse poem; thus completing this cycle for the Quintet. This lengthy prose poem, written in 1873, Rimbaud’s 19th year, traces the narrator’s journey from life into hell, with his philosophical observations along the way. Rimbaud’s actual journey included a long and widely travelled affair with the older poet Paul Verlaine, who was gaoled for shooting him in Brussels. Rimbaud’s work has long influenced 20th century artists and musicians around the world. Eugene Ball (Trumpet), Geoff Hughes (Guitar), Nick Haywood (Bass), Phillip Noy (Alto Sax) and Allan Browne (Percussion).