A highly trained classical violinist, Guillaume Dettmar has also taught violin for nearly two decades, a specialist in traditional music and improvisation. Besides his performing as a soloist with orchestras, Dettmar has collaborated with Moroccan and Lebanese singers, toured the Middle East, played with the group Adama (Jewish music), appeared at many festivals, and recorded with several French and international jazz artists. Some of his own past band projects have included Ensemble Manguina  (traditional klezmer and Judeo-Spanish music), Paris Klezmer Band, and United Colors of the Mediterranean.

Now, Dettmar Quartet features the stellar violinist presenting his compositions on “Escales” (Stopovers) along with Alexandre Jouravsky (piano), François Laizeau (drums) and Bernard Cochin (double bass). The title cut spans nearly nine minutes and explores interesting scales, rhythmic improvisations and melodies. His self-penned “Hachamain” features some of Dettmar’s understated vocalizing in Hebrew. With “Lamma bada yatathana,” he arranges the poetry of a medieval Arabic song (in the Muwashshah tradition) dating back to between the 8th and 13th centuries. It’s a novel idea and way to infuse new innovative vigor and a contemporary jazz sensibility into ancient tones.    

Guillaume Dettmar explains,“Escales is a creative project, a journey through the different influences that have shaped me since I started dedicating myself to music. Viscerally, I carve out a part of Mediterranean culture associated with my work as a classical and contemporary musician and fill it with an overture to jazz and improvised music.”  It’s all an adventure for therapeutic sonic respite, and the journey becomes one of dreamy aesthetics, wistful resonance and effervescent charm (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)