Francis Cabrel – Live at the Zénith de Rouen, 2016 (In Extremis Tour)

A cornerstone of French chanson since Petite Marie (1977), singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel offers with this “En concert au Zénith de Rouen” recording a live document of his In Extremis Tour (2015-2016), the stage extension of his 2015 album In Extremis. Filmed in HD at the Zénith de Rouen (Le Grand-Quevilly), the performance features the tour’s expanded band: a brass section (trumpet, saxophones), clarinet and flute, a cello, and Cabrel’s longtime players Gérard Bikialo on piano, Bernard Paganotti on bass and Éric Sauviat on guitar. The show pairs timeless classics — Je l’aime à mourir, La corrida, Petite Marie, Sarbacane — with more recent, socially aware songs such as Mandela, pendant ce temps and La voix du crooner. What makes this filmed live concert notable is its jazz-swing and orchestral reworking of a folk repertoire, carried by an undiminished voice and Patrick Savey’s polished direction. An essential capture to discover Cabrel on stage at the height of his maturity. Keywords: Francis Cabrel, Zénith de Rouen, 2016, live, in concert, In Extremis Tour, French chanson.