Le Théâtre Du Chêne Noir ‎– Miss Madona (1973, LP, France)

Two years after having recorded Aurora, which Gérard Terronès released on his Futura Records label in 1971, the Théâtre du Chêne Noir put on another show, Miss Madona, first at Avignon, and then at Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil. From this play, Gérard Gelas's group took three sound extracts which they made, with no further ado, into a single. Miss Madona is thus the second recording by Théâtre du Chêne Noir. The two sides (and three tracks) offer up an unbelievable instrumental theater with something of a white magic ritual about it. The actors, so much better for the record, were also musicians; alongside Miss Madona, ex-star of the circus and now idol, were the piano and electric organ of Daniel Dublet, the saxophones of Pierre Surtel and Jean-Louis Canaud, and the trumpet of Gilbert Say. But there are also the vocals of Beatrice Le Thierry, Bénédicte Maulet, Jean Paul Chazalon, Monik Lamy, Nicole Aubiat... which added to the mystery of what happened on stage. The sound of this particular theater is reminiscent as much of John Coltrane as of Ravi Shankar, Pierre Henry or the Art Ensemble of Chicago. There are voices from beyond the grave, inspirational for future musicians: Steven Stapleton, for example who included Théâtre du Chêne Noir in his Nurse With Wound List.

Chêne Noir ‎– Chant Pour Le Delta, La Lune Et Le Soleil (1976, LP, France)

Tracklist:
1. Le Train (4:35)
2. Les Oiseaux
3. Hey...! (11:32)
4. La 7 (5:30)
5. Le Nil (11:05)

Musicians
Nicole Aubiat / vocals
Thierry Bergerot / synthesizers
Jean-Loius Cannaud / Flute, tenor and alto sax, vocals, percussions
Jean-Pierre Chalon / drums, percussions
Daniel Dublet / piano, violincello, congas
Monik Lamy / vocals, percussions
Philippe Puech / vibraphone, vocals
Christine Schaffter / soprano sax, vocals percussions
Pierre Surtel / sporano sax, vibraphone, vocals
Abel Valls / bass guitar, contrabass

Chene Noir were a theater group who mixed in original rock and jazz music along with female poetry recitation. Similar to some of the Japanese groups like J.A. Caesar and Geino Yasharagumi, though not near as dramatic or abrasive as those troupes. Nice, but requires tolerance of spoken word. (ashratom)

Chêne Noir ‎– Orphée 2000 (1976, LP, France)

Face A
1) Musique des martinets (5:34)
2) Le Vieti Orphes (2:15)
3) Musique de ls nuit (3:05)
4) Chensin d'ou l'on me revienz pas (5:53)
5) Musique du Visux (2:15)
Face B
1) La routs da la mer (2:12)
2) Le reve des sointes maries de-la-mer (4:46)
3) La musique de la lumiere (2:15)
4) La Musique des amants (7:10)
5) La chuse (2:40)
6) La Musique d'Orphee (2:40)

Musicians
Nicois Aubiat / Chants, recitatif
Jean-Louis Cannaud / vocals, flute, percussion
Jean-Pierre Chaloh / drums and percussion
Daniel Dublet / vocal, acoustic piano, fender piano
Gerard Gelas / synthesizer, piano, organ, guitar
Monik Lamy / vocal, percussion
Philippe Puech / vocals, vibraphone
Christine Schaffter / vocals, harp, soprano sax
Pierre Surtel / sax soprano and alto (solo)
Abel Valls / contrabass. bass guitar, guitar

Chêne Noir ‎– Aurora (1971, LP, France)

Tracklist:

1 Arrivée de la terre et de ses enfants : L'aurore (7:33)
2 Le bonheur (4:35)
3 La vieillesse et la mort (5:27)
4 Le conte de la terre et de ses enfants (7:25)
5 La fascination des enfants de la terre (5:54)
6 Vivre (5:12)

Musicians:
Gérard Gelas / direction, drums, gongs
Nicole Aubiat / vocals, cymbals
Bénédicte Maulet / vocals
Pierre Surtel / flutes, alto saxophone, vocals
Guy Paquin / violoncello, trumpet, vocals
Daniel Dublet / guitar, vocals, gongs and bongos
Jean Marie Redon / flute, vocals

As one might guess from this band's full name, Théâtre du Chêne Noir d'Avignon, Chêne Noir was a troupe of musicians and actors from the city of Avignon in southeast France. Avignon in fact is famous for its numerous theater companies and the name refers to both the performance group and the ancient chapel where they are headquartered. Many similar groups -- such as Principal Edwards Magic Theater, Grand Magic Circus, and Floh de Cologne -- in the early '70s throughout Europe blended rock with theater, but Chêne Noir, more avant-garde than most, deserves special note for its blend of improvised jazz and rock, spoken word, dance, and theatrics. Musician and writer Gerard Gelas founded Chêne Noir in 1968 as a way to create ceremonies to release the full potential of humanity and push the performers physically and psychological to the limits. Though occasionally the troupe put on material by Molière, Alfred Jarry, and other more obscure French writers, their main focus was on original material by Gelas and the others in the group. In 1971, the legendary experimental jazz label Futura released the group's first album, Aurora, recorded from a May 1971 performance of a piece in their repertoire since September 1970. Whereas on this debut, Chêne Noir was a seven-piece and by the late '70s when they released a couple more albums, Chant pour le Delta la Lune et le Soleil and Orphee 2000, on their own label, they had filled out to ten members. Meanwhile, the physical theater itself provided a performance space to other acts over the years; in 1972, both Magma and Steve Lacy performed there and for Lacy, it was the very first of his many solo concerts. The Chêne Noir company has continued to perform throughout the last several decades into the new millennium, either at the chapel or on tour to other parts of France, Moscow, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Algeria, and even Canada.