Elodie Sablier - Second Album - Silent Bridge

We met Elodie Sablier at the Langham Hotel in The Rocks, Sydney a while back, when she was the regular pianist at their bar. She also used to play at the QVB on Thursday evenings during extended shopping hours. And then, she went on to release her first CD, Vertigo, in 2013.
And now, she is just about to release her second album, Silent Bridge, already available on iTunes, and in shops from December 6th.
Elodie plays the piano with the same ease as I cook everyday for my family. Years of classical training and practice as well as her long dabbling into improvisation and jazz give her compositions a strong foundation onto which she builds an often melancholic music, or reinterpret a famous Debussy or Satie piece with finesse and brio, and the occasional humour!

This second album shows a  greater maturity, fluidity and assurance as a result of her still recent success with her first album, but also many radio appearances and concerts around the place.
She also ventures into partnering with a Cello player - Kenichi Mizushima - on some tracks as well as trying her hand at singing. When she sings, she reminds me of Brigitte Bardot, although at times it is difficult to understand her lyrics, as the balance of the recording gives precedence to the piano and cello.

I really like the second track on Silent Bridge and also her rendition of a Gnossienne of Satie.
Elodie shows a new "lightness of being" on these compositions which pervades the whole record and makes it a delight to listen from beginning to end. So start saving to buy Silent Bridge CD!
For the geeks reading my blog, you will be interested to know that Elodie plays a Steinway Concert Grand model D built in 1912, belonging to the ABC, our national radio and television network, who also provided the recording venue and gear, under the technical guidance of Mitch Kenny, recording engineer extraordinaire and Kathy Naunton, in charge of the mastering.

Steinway Concert Grand model D

The Eugene Goossens Recording Studio at the ABC in Ultimo

Mitch Kenny, Recording Engineer Extraordinaire