Humair, Daniel
Drum Thing
30 years ago I published an album for the Gallery FrEmeaux & AssociEs, and it included six great lithographies that Daniel Humair created under the title "Scratch Bop and Paper". The brush-strokes of the narrative abstracts in Daniel's paintings always reminded me of the fundamental traits in his sticks hitting a drum skin, and in the flat tints of his painted works I could almost see the sometimes long harmonies that came from his cymbals. Daniel can detach himself from the instrument that provides a supporting frame to become a humble conductor who arranges the most creative configurations, carrying musicians who are "blowers" into a state of trance. Our Humair, a master of the drums, illustrates Charles Cros' famous words, "A record means three minutes of silence to be decorated." Because Daniel is quite uninhibited in decorating this "Drum Thing" where his partners, the wonderful soloists Vincent LE Quang and Yoann Loustalot (the trio's guests) can contribute to the rhythm setting provided by StEphane Kerecki, another masterful player, and one of the greatest jazz drummers in the world. Patrick FREMEAUX