"Valentin Ceccaldi was born on February 3, 1989. He had the opportunity to study with Raphaële Semezis, Florian Lauridon, Joëlle Léandre, Vincent Courtois, Elise Dabrowski, Pascal Contet, PRINT and Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer. He regularly performs with Marcel & Solange (Third Group Prize at La Défense 2011), Théo Ceccaldi Trio (winner of Orléans'Jazz 2011, finalist of the Jazz Springboard in Vienna 2011), Walabix (winner Orléans'Jazz 2009, , MÃ © dic Collignon Quartet + Strings (project around King Crimson), Eric Amrofel Trio, Toons (Marcel & Solange + Theo Ceccaldi Trio) and Durio Zibethinus (acoustic duet). He multiplied the collaborations in universes ranging from classical music (Orchestra of Orleans, Orchestra of the Opéra de Massy) to the song (Emel Mathlouthi, Stéphan Rizon, Céline Mastrorelli, Al) , The badly dressed birds). In 2010, he co-founded The Builders of Bridges, a collective of improvisers based on Orléans."

"David Chevallier is a maverick.

Refusing to be confined within a musical style, he cultivates his difference, and creates works at the intersection of universes that are a priori remote from one another. Perhaps this is due to his personal trajectory - musician parents, a thorough training in the classical guitar, empirical discovery of jazz, improvisation and composition - or perhaps it is no more than a form of resistance. Whether as an instrumentalist in the groups of Laurent Dehors, Patrice Caratini, John Taylor and Jean-Marie Machado, or as leader of his own projects, David Chevallier has always shown a determination to be original.

Hence, after setting to music novellas by Dino Buzzati and poems by Cesare Pavese (in his astonishing album ÔThe Rest is Silence' written specially for ƒlise Caron), David Chevallier recalled the madrigals of Gesualdo, which had made a strong impression on him, and conceived this programme of ÔGesualdo Variations'. He subsequently worked on the lute songs of John Dowland with the soprano Anne Magou‘t, also a member of the ÔGesualdo Variations' team, and the theorbist Bruno Helstroffer.

Then came ÔIs That Pop Music', with the remarkable singer David Linx and four faithful companions: Yves Robert, Christophe Monniot, Michel Massot, and Denis Charolles.

Eclecticism and coherence, a taste for risk-taking, and sensuous pleasure: these are the key words that characterise this resolutely atypical musician."