On My Mind

1. BERND ALOIS ZIMMERMANN - Trumpet Concerto "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See"
2. EDVARD GRIEG - Morning Mood (From Peer Gynt, Op. 23) [Arr. for Jazz Ensemble]
3. LOUIS YULE BROWN - I've Got a World That Swings
4. TOMMY WOLF - Ballad of the Sad Young Men
5. DIZZY GILLEPSIE - Tour de force
6. FEDERICO MOMPOU - Combat del somni, No. 1, Damunt de tu nomes les flors (Perf. by trumpet and Piano)
7. TRADITIONAL SPIRITUAL - Nobody Knows the Trouble I See
8. MATT DENNIS - Everything Happens to Me
9. VINCENT YOUMANS - Tea for Two
10. DOMINIQUE PROBST - On a Same Wavelength (Version for Jazz Ensemble)
11. HOAGY CARMICHAEL - Georgia on My Mind
12. TRADITIONAL - Amazing Grace

Jazz and classical music have never been truly separate, yet they often seem to exist in spheres of their own. Lucienne Renaudin Vary shatters that divide. With her new album On My Mind, the young French trumpeter muses on some of her favourite music from each of these genres and the space that lies in between, exploring how classical and jazz traditions have influenced and enriched each other throughout the last century.

The dawn of the jazz era broke in New Orleans in the late 19th century, and among its many influences—which include West African music, ragtime and blues—is European classical. Across the Atlantic, many musicians in Europe took an interest in this emerging style, with its evocative rhythms and magnetic melodies, which composers such as Debussy and Stravinsky would go on to incorporate into some of their own works. While each has cultivated its own unique features and techniques, they are undoubtedly sister genres, and Lucienne Renaudin Vary considers both to be “integral parts of my identity and formation”.

The music of this album dances on the blurry line between the two. Its centrepiece is the daunting Trumpet Concerto by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, a mid-20th century German composer who embraced a wide and eclectic range of musical styles. Written in 1954, the concerto is designed around the powerful theme of the African American spiritual “Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen” and seamlessly blends distinctly jazz elements into an orchestral setting. Lucienne is especially drawn to its “rhythmic, percussive and ferocious character”, which poses a number of challenges, both technical and expressive, for its soloist. She has recorded its three movements with the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru.

The spiritual song itself has its own place later in the program, in a rendition that places the soulful trumpet solo within layers of organ, then lulling jazz quartet, and ends with an ethereal trumpet choir arrangement of an extract from Duke Ellington’s Concert of Sacred Music. Jazz takes root in much of the remainder of the program, with recurring nods to classical: “Morning Mood” from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt emerges in a dreamy arrangement by Tim Allhoff in the spirit of jazz legends Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, while the Catalan composer Federico Mompou’s “Damunt de tu només les flors”, from his song cycle Combat del somni (Dream Battle), creates a pensive atmosphere that incorporates jazz harmonies and accents into both the trumpet and piano lines.

Lucienne Renaudin Vary lends her own velvety vocals to two numbers: the 1940 hit “Everything Happens to Me”, by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis, and “Tea for Two”, written by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar for the 1924 musical No, No, Nanette. For this version, Tim Allhoff also drew from Shostakovich’s symphonic arrangement, known as Tahiti Trot, the result of a spontaneous challenge in 1927 from the composer’s friend to produce an orchestration of the popular jazz song from memory within an hour. Other notable tracks include “The Ballad of the Sad Young Men” by Tommy Wolf, Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia on My Mind”, and jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie’s “Tour de Force”. On My Mind closes with the traditional hymn tune “New Britain”, best known alongside the lyrics of “Amazing Grace”, in a wholesome version that embraces both the jazz and classical sides of the album.

Performing with Lucienne are her trusty jazz quartet, which she dubs her “Fantastic Four”: Hugo Lippi on guitar, Vincent Bourgeyx on piano (or organ), Thomas Bramerie on bass, and Franck Agulhon on drums. The recording also features the musicians of the Quatuor Hanson—made up of violinists Anton Hanson and Jules Dussap, violist Gabrielle Lafait, and cellist Simon Dechambre—as well as appearances by bassist Henning Sieverts, drummer Heinrich Köbberling, and arranger Tim Allhoff on both piano and organ.

Recipient of the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Award in August 2026, Lucienne Renaudin Vary has been featured on Classic FM’s 30 Under 30, received two Opus Klassik awards, appeared on TV and radio programs across Europe, and released a previous five acclaimed albums on Warner Classics. The 27-year-old musician is often praised for her “maturity and insight” (Philippe Duchemin) and “buttery tone” (Mark Pullinger).

On My Mind is a showcase of the multifaceted dialogue that classical music and jazz have had over the past century of musical evolution, a coalescence that can only be achieved when genre becomes a mere description rather than a parameter. “I wanted to pay tribute to these interactions, to this unbelievably productive porosity of styles,” says Lucienne. “It’s such a rich resource, born out of cross-pollination, respect and mutual fascination. … because it’s ALL music.”