His is a life dedicated to Beethoven repertoire and he is attempting to recreate the legend's melodies when the numero uno musician is remembered on his 250th birthday.
Paul Lay, a French jazz pianist, composer and arranger, is concentrating on Beethovan's universal melodies, such as the Moonlight Sonata, Für Elise, Ode to Joy or his Symphony, besides his own compositions inspired by the legendary music and the places where he had lived such as Vienna and Heiligenstadt.
Taking the music that lived for nearly three centries and enthralled various generations, Lay is all set for a unique concert at the National Museum on Sunday, October 16, at 7pm, kind enough to offer the music aficionados in Oman a rare treat.
Paul Lay, who is to present his latest piece, 'Full solo', which is considered to be a tribute to Beethoven, will be held under the auspices of Véronique Aulagnon, Ambassador of France to Oman.
Paul Lay is considered to be one of the most brilliant jazz pianists of today and has been enthralling the audience with his soul rendering music by carving his name as a superhero of the piano in the hearts of millions.
He blends two generations, two cultures and two music streams, such as classical music and jazz and understands the soul of both traditions.
His Conservatoire Supérieur National de Musique, has carved a niche for itself and that has made him win the Prix Charles Cros for his second album, then two years later the prestigious prix Django Reinhardt which honoured him as the musician of the year, followed by the Victoires du Jazz, which reaffirmed his place in jazz.
He has played with Riccardo Del Fra, Géraldine Laurent or Térez Montcalm, and is part of Ping Machine.
He believes that he got the music tradition from his mother, who is a music lover, and made him listen to a lot of tunes and songs. He began to imitate on the piano the melodies he heard from the age of 3and started learning learning the piano at the age of five, which made him work a lot on his ear.
His completed his education at the regional conservatory of Toulouse, the National Conservatory of Music in Paris, Jazz and Improvised Music department with François Théberge and Glenn Ferris in particular. These all have formed his skills with Riccardo Del Fra.
He has a large number of titles to his credit and since 2020, he has launched Deep Rivers, with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu (Laborie Jazz),and in 2021 a Full Solo (Gazebo).
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