Jean Luc is pleased to announce this new acoustic trio work to his fans, entitled “D-Stringz”, with Stanley Clarke (double bass) and Bireli Lagrene (acoustic guitar), which has been released by Verve/Universal in North America, and by Impulse/Universal in Europe. This new recording features a blend of jazz standards and original compositions from all three of these musicians.

The origin of this project with Jean Luc, Stanley, and Bireli as a trio dates back to 2012 when French jazz impresario and the album associate producer François Lacharme, produced an all-star concert at Paris’ Chatelet Theatre to salute Jean Luc’s 50-year-long career. In addition to performing with a symphony orchestra, Jean Luc organized two trios, one of which included Stanley Clarke – a longtime music collaborator – and French Gypsy guitarist Bireli Lagrène, whom neither Jean Luc nor Stanley had yet performed with before. The three only performed five pieces during a 20-minute set, yet the performance’s impact was so immense that it inspired Lacharme to converse with Jean-Philippe Allard – jazz director of Universal Music France and general manager for Impulse! Records – about the prospects of recording them. Two years later, the three nestled inside the ICP studios in Brussels for four days to record D-STRINGZ.

This release is available in CD and download formats through Amazon and other retailers.

Track listing:

1. STRETCH (Biréli Lagrène)
2. TO AND FRO (Jean Luc Ponty)
3. TOO YOUNG TO GO STEADY (Harold Adamson / Jimmy Mc Hugh)
4. BIT OF BURD (Stanley Clarke)
5. NUAGES (Django Reinhardt)
6. CHILDHOOD MEMORIES (SOUVENIRS D‘ENFANCE) (Jean Luc Ponty)
7. BLUE TRAIN (John Coltrane)
8. PARADIGM SHIFT (Stanley Clarke)
9. MERCY, MERCY, MERCY (Joe Zawinul)

Note: Steve Shehan provides percussion on several tracks.