In 1961, just before hitting the jackpot with his famous Brazilian recordings, Stan Getz released (under the label Verve) one of the most beautiful albums of his lavish discography: Focus. A complete musical oddity, both in style and substance, and without a doubt the most convincing reunion of jazz and strings. Originally the partition – compositions and arrangements – is the work of Eddie Sauter. A great admirer of Bartok, he didn’t just orchestrate songs, but wrote actual pieces for violins considered ahead of their time, in which he leaves enough room for Getz to express himself in complete freedom… 56 years later, Sylvain Rifflet, who cherishes this atypical masterpiece, embarks on an anything-but-formulaic tribute. First of all the French saxophonist doesn’t use the original partition but wrote his own, entrusting the arrangements to Fred Pallem. Produced with drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Simon Tailleu, ReFocus only retains Focus’ spirit and DNA. We discover Rifflet assuming, more than usual, the role of a soloist and holding the note like never before. And his virtuosity glides with grace over the carpet of strings woven by Mathieu Herzog’s Ensemble Appassionato. One last point worth noting, to emphasise the lineage between both albums, is that ReFocus is also released under the Verve label… © MZ/Qobuz