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ABOUT

"A penchant for beautiful melodies, as well as a common sensitivity as composers"

- Alex Dutilh, France Musique

Three of a Kind is a trio composed of guitarist Michael Valeanu, saxophonist Jon Boutellier and Bassist Clovis Nicolas.

Valeanu, Boutellier and Nicolas share a similar vision of Jazz music, that combines a solid technical requirement on their instrument with an affinity for beautiful melodies, as well as a common sensitivity as composers. The intimacy of this trio constitutes a perfect sonic stage for the three protagonists to be heard with clarity and transparency. Hearing them in such a minimalist and intimate setting brings out their unique musical voices to the front. They are, indeed, Three of a Kind.

 

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Michaël Valeanu

Michael Valeanu is a Jazz guitarist from Paris, France. He moved to New York City in 2008 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He recorded four albums and performed extensively with vocalist Cyrille Aimée in the US, Europe and Asia. In 2015, Valeanu was second runner up in the International Wes Montgomery Guitar Competition. As a leader, Michael self-produced three albums : Tea Time (2012), Hard To Cook (2015), Live at Mister Rogers (2018).

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Jon Boutellier

Saxophonist, arranger, composer and educator, Jon Boutellier belongs to a generation of emerging European musicians who seek to meet the requirements of straight ahead jazz. Nominated for the French Jazz Grammy Awards in 2020, he has co-led the Keystone Big Band for ten years (French Grammy Awards winner in 2018) for which he writes and arranges abundantly. He has also released two albums as a leader: Watt’s in 2016 and On Both Sides of the Atlantic! in 2020. Jon has collaborated with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Quincy Jones, John Clayton, Jeremy Pelt, Kirk Lightsey, Madeleine Peyroux, Gregory Porter, among others.

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Clovis Nicolas

Clovis Nicolas is a French jazz bass player and composer living in New York City, who graduated from the Juilliard School. His warm, precise and tasteful bass playing gained him a solid reputation on the international scene, which led to performances with artists such as Peter Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, Jeremy Pelt, Brad Mehldau, Harry Allen, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Curtis Fuller. Parallel to his busy schedule as a sideman, Clovis is also a band leader who released three albums for Sunnyside Record: Nine Stories – DownBeat Magazine’s Best Albums of the Year 2014 – Freedom Suite Ensuite in 2018, and Autoportrait in 2021, a solo bass album awarded a CHOC in Jazz Magazine

In the Media
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Jazz Life Magazine (Japan) 

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