| Jazz, compositions
Franco-Mauritanian pianist Leïla Olivesi is a leading figure in the French jazz scene, as well as a composer and conductor. She was named “Musician of the Year” in the Top Jazz 2025 rankings by Jazz Magazine and Jazz News.
Her new album, African Rhapsody, has just received the French Record Prize from the Académie du Jazz. The sixth woman to win the Django Reinhardt Prize in 72 years and an accomplished composer, Leïla recently wrote two choral works: Rhapsody in Black with the International Philharmonic Choir (2024), and Around the World in 80 Moons for the Voco choir of the Hauts-de-Seine department (La Seine Musicale, 2025).
She will serve as conductor for the 2025 edition of the Marseille Jazz des Cinq Continents Festival with the Jazz AMU Big Band, and has been leading her medium ensemble since 2018.
Immersed from childhood in jazz, poetry, and the writers of the Négritude movement, the pianist has created a tailor-made musical world for her octet, where composition and improvisation blend seamlessly.
The high point of the group—this being their third album—African Rhapsody confirms her compositional talent and showcases an orchestra of inspired soloists (Baptiste Herbin, Quentin Ghomari, Adrien Sanchez, Jean-Charles Richard, and Manu Codjia), enhanced by a new vocal and choral dimension.
This album invites listeners on a journey from Africa to Corsica, via the dunes of Chinguetti and New York. It notably includes a tribute to Wayne Shorter entitled Wayne Left Town, bursting with swing, as well as a nod to Duke Ellington with Little African Flower.
Leïla Olivesi: piano, compositions
Quentin Ghomari: trumpet
Manu Codjia: guitar
Yoni Zelnik: double bass
Donald Kontomanou: drums
