Kenz Quintet + ilanga

Kenza Taleb and Edgar Lepetit were supported throughout the season by Le Périscope as part of its tanDEM programme, an artist-in-residence scheme aimed at young instrumentalists. From access to rehearsal studios to stage time, their respective projects have developed over the months, culminating in this double concert.

Trumpeter Edgar Lepetit is launching his Ilanga project in early 2026 — a brand-new quartet centred on his compositions, with Le Périscope joining them shortly afterwards. Rooted in the current French nu-jazz scene, the group’s music draws on jazz, hip-hop and electronic music to create a modern sound with an old-school flavour.

With : 

• Edgar Lepetit: trumpet, flugelhorn, effects & composition
• Mathieu Salse: guitars, effects
• Benoît Meyer: double bass
• Bastien Bethune: drums

The Kenz Quintet explores a Moroccan-French style of jazz in which melancholic ballads intertwine with chaabi and free jazz. Originally from Morocco, where she grew up, singer Kenza Taleb recounts her most intimate sorrows and her most exuberant dreams in Darija – a Moroccan dialect – and in French, whilst blending North African rhythms with the harmonies, melodies and improvisations characteristic of jazz.

With : 

• Kenza Taleb: composition and vocals
• Nino Montorier: trombone,
• Aurèle Rallo: piano
• Elias Salamo: double bass
• Malo Thiery: drums