At the helm of beefed-up sextet Headbangers, Nicolas Gardel takes jazz onto the land of soul, funk, world, pop and electro. An eclecticism that will come as no surprise from a trumpeter who grew up listening to Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, as well as Muse, Radiohead or Alicia Keys… With his pure and virtuosic phrasing, he crosses swords with big names like Henri Texier, David Sanborn, Nicholas Payton, Pierrick Pédron, Electro Deluxe, Rémi Panossian, and even Zebda… Following The Dark Side Of A Love Affair, his first album with the Headbangers, he doubles down and embraces, almost vindicates his eclecticism with The Iron Age. Along with Ferdinand Doumerc (sax and flute), Thibaud Dufoy (keyboards), Dorian Dutech (guitar), Philippe Burneau (bass) and Jérôme Martineau-Ricotti (drums), Nicolas Gardel offers a 360° trip, sometimes spaced-out, sometimes psychedelic, furious, or completely weightless. But the secret behind his untameable music is of course the excellence of his compositions. © Max Dembo/Qobuz