André 3000: New Blue Sun LIVE
- Main StageFriday 12•July•2024
He has been called one of the best rappers ever, put the city of Atlanta on the musical map with partner in crime Anton 'Big Boi' Patton as Outkast when only Los Angeles and New York mattered, won no fewer than seven Grammys, collaborated as a solo artist with everyone from Béyonce to Frank Ocean and broke through not only musically, but also in film, visual art and fashion. To say that André Benjamin - aka André 3000 - is not immediately the artist you would expect to see at Gent Jazz is an understatement. Yet it is a match made in heaven because late last year the multi-talented jack-of-all-trades surprised friend and foe alike with 'New Blue Sun', his instrumental solo debut on which André 3000 focuses on his love for wind instruments.
'I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album But This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time'. It is the tongue-in-cheek title of the opening track of 'New Blue Sun' and at once a message to anyone who might comment on his artistic choice. In recent years, André 3000 has been spotted more than once - on the streets of New York or the Paris airport, for instance - with strange-looking wind instruments. Turns out, in addition to all his various artistic pursuits, he still found time to immerse himself in all kinds of flutes: bamboo flute, contrabass flute, a traditional flute used by the Maya... . This led - with the help / under the influence of jazz percussionist and producer Carlos Niño - to the conjuring masterpiece 'New Blue Sun'. The record - because of its artistic upheaval - evokes comparisons to Alice Coltrane's oeuvre and has been applauded in the press for its meditative and almost healing softness and links to spiritual jazz and new age. Combine that with a balmy summer evening and the soothing setting of the Bijloke site and you automatically understand why André 3000 and Gent Jazz are a match made in heaven.
Band line-up:
- André 3000 (flute)
- Carlos Niño (percussion)
- Nate Mercereau (guitar)
- Surya Botofasina (keyboard)
- Deantoni Parks (percussion)
