Strands │ Single #1 from Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? Akropolis, Pascal Le Boeuf, Christian Euman

Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? is out on April 26, 2024 on Bright Shiny Things! 💿 Preorder here: “Strands” is the culmination of Part One of Pascal Le Boeuf’s Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?, and is a celebratory tribute to Leonard Bernstein and Geri Allen. It begins with a cheerful ascending canon performed by Akropolis Reed Quintet that is interrupted repeatedly before morphing into an improvised piano solo by Pascal Le Boeuf. The main theme and canon come together before ending with a flashy unison line reinforced by the crashing freeform of drummer Christian Euman. Are We Dreaming the Same Dream? is an examination of what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience.” With a hybrid ensemble comprised of Akropolis Reed Quintet, pianist/composer Pascal Le Boeuf, and drummer Christian Euman, Le Boeuf deconstructs the fabric of his American experience by recognizing the strands of his musical DNA—Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Leonard Bernstein. What are the strands that form our collective identity, and are we dreaming the same dream?