The date of Moncef’s showcase performance at the 34th Annual IAJE Conference has been announced. Moncef will perform in trio formation with Jonathan Blake on drums and Gregg August on bass on Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 7pm at the Hilton New York, located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Don’t miss your chance to see Moncef in the frame of the largest annual gathering of the global jazz community. For more information about the IAJE Conference, visitwww.iaje.org. Moncef will also play the next night at Charlie O’s, at a time to be determined so check out the “Tours” section shortly.

Just back from the “Couleurs Jazz Festival” in Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunisia, where he gave two concerts and a master class, Moncef is glad to announce that he’s been selected to participate and perform at the 2007 IAJE Conference, which will take place in New York City, January 10-13, 2007. Stay tuned for the exact time and date of his performances, but we already look forward to meeting all festivals organizers and Jazz professionals at the prestigious event to present Moncef and his music, in anticipation of a 2007 AQUA Tour.

After an incredible performance at the Atlanta Jazz Festival in May that left jazz luminaries such as David Sanchez and Kevin Mahogany (along with the audience of 10,000 plus) in awe, Moncefis preparing for some summer dates on three continents. A concert in Tunisia with local guitar legend Fawzi Chekili, another in Champéry, Switzerland, followed by two East Coast dates, August 21 at Cecil’s Jazz Club in West Orange, NJ, and August 22 at the prestigious Jazz Standard in New York. Please go to the “Tours” section for all details. Meanwhile, “AQUA” continues to make some noise in the US jazz press. Read what JazzIz, the Village Voice and Jazz Review had to say about Moncef’s Savoy debut in the “Media” section. Moreover, Moncef recently joined the MySpace community. You can visit his page atwww.myspace.com/moncefgenoud. We wish everyone a great summer, and thank you for your continued support!

Moncef scores a hat trick! The three major jazz publications in the US give rare reviews of “AQUA” in their June issues! Downbeat magazine gives 4 stars to Moncef’s debut on Savoy Jazz, while Jazz Times and JazzIz praise the record. You can read all press reviews of “AQUA” in the “Media” section of this site. Meanwhile,Moncef is gearing up for his performance at the Atlanta Jazz Festival on Sunday, May 28, 2006, where he’ll perform in trio with E.J. Strickland and HansGlawischnig. More details can be found in the “Tours” section.

Moncef’s American debut album “AQUA” is in the stores now! It’s available at all good record stores including Tower Records, Borders, Barnes & Noble, as well as online directly from this site! Go to the “Music” page to listen to snippets of THE jazz event of this spring and order a copy. You can also download individual songs from iTunes, Amazon, Napster, etc. Look for album reviews in the upcoming issues of All About Jazz, Jazz Times, Downbeat, Jazziz, and JazzImprov.

We’re happy to announce two high-profile US dates in support of the release of “AQUA”. Moncef will perform in trio at Sweet Rhythm in New York City on April 21, 2006, as well as at the world-renown Atlanta Jazz Festival on May 28, 2006. Details are in the “Tours” section.

Moncef has signed with Savoy Jazz and his first project for the legendary label is titled “Aqua.” Recorded in New York, “Aqua” is set for release on April 4, 2006. The talented composer is accompanied by a stellar group of musicians including Michael Brecker, Bill Steward, Scott Colley and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Produced by Los Angeles-based Rollin’ Dice Productions and dubbed his most ambitious project, “Aqua” comprises seven original numbers and three covers.
Moncef, who’s career is really on the rise, has recorded ten albums as a leader internationally and has attracted the attention of those in the know as a result of his extensive touring. Genoud expects to keep up the touring momentum in support of “Aqua”. Several US dates will be announced shortly, check the “Tours” section for an updated listing. Snippets from “Aqua” can be heard in the “Music” section.
Says Joshua Sherman, Senior Director of A&R and Marketing for the Savoy Label Group: “Moncef’s music has an innate lyricism and sense of intimacy that is immediately appealing. His compositions are accessible without sacrificing complexity, respectful of jazz tradition without denying his irrepressible personality. Moncefis an artist with a highly individual sound and a beautiful spirit, and we are very excited to present his US debut and to work with Moncef to develop his career around the world.”

Savoy Jazz is a unit of the Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American unit of Columbia Music Entertainment (formerly Nippon Columbia), the oldest music company in Japan. Newly reorganized and now headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, Columbia Music Entertainment has re-emerged as a significant creative force with a stable of newly signed platinum-selling artists. Savoy Jazz is distributed in the United States by Warner Music Group’s WEA Corp.

Moncef is currently in the US shooting the movie Return To Gorée. The project follows Moncef, his good friend Youssou N’Dour, as well as Idris Muhammad and James Cammack as they travel the route of West-African slaves from Senegal to the United States, while revisiting the musical evolution from Negro spirituals to Gospel to Jazz with other musicians they meet along the way. The film, which started shooting in Senegal in late 2005, took the musicians to Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, and will then take them to France and Luxembourg before ending on the island of Gorée for a spectacular live performance by all the artist involved. It is scheduled for release in theaters later in 2006.