If jazz has a horizontal dimension (by its long history), the “diagonal” is the ideal description of the direction J-C Cholet chose: to cross all musical landscapes in this oblique, ascending way, from the most classic to the most modern. Originally founded in 1990 as Odejy Octet (Orchestre Departemental de Jazz de l’Yonne), Diagonal, renamed so in 1999, firmly returns to the traditional repertoire of jazz. It draws its inspiration from European heritage. Cholet’s suites are a direct legacy of Duke Ellington, who was a musician and pianist in the fifties/sixties. He transforms them into impressions of travel through the geo-cultural regions of the continent. The “Suite Alpestre”, composed in 1997 with Mathias Ruegg, the Vienna Art Orchestra, and “English Sounds” follow.
