Review by Eyal Hareuveni in Salt peanuts. 08.10.2024

French self-taught pianist-free improviser Henri Roger stopped playing the piano for several years due to hearing issues : tinnitus and overload. Luckily, hearing aids enabled him to tolerate sounds better and in 2023 he resumed playing the piano. During this time, Roger avoided group work, focused on solo electronic music in his home studio in Monaco, and expanded his skills in producing abstract video creation, images, and sounds.

Gestes et chemins (Gestures and paths) refers to the movements and paths on the baby grand Pleyel piano keyboard and the rapid mental journeys during his solo improvisations. These improvisations correspond with Roger’s research of serial music, the 12-tone series, and suggest a new vocabulary. Roger says these improvisations are rhythmically free, with successive pulses, speeds, intensities, and varied breaths.

Gestes et chemins is a DIY album. Roger recorded the eight improvisations on his home patio with his iPhone in May 2024, with one take for each improvisation with no edit. He designed the cover. His partner, Muriel Roger, filmed the video clip (see below). This solo album radiates faithfully the spirit of the art of the moment, offering free, contemplative yet intuitive music that gravitates naturally and organically into loose structures, feels untimely and is very personal, but, still, reflects a unique perspective on a challenging musical legacy.

Eyal Hareuveni
https://salt-peanuts.eu/record/henri-roger/