I spent most of 2023 trying to feel at home in Paris. Like many, I moved in a phase of self-discovery, drawn to the myth and magic that surrounds the city. Paris is a maze of nooks and crannies, a cobblestone rabbit warren of spots to hide, to wait out the storms of life and weather, under the shadows of grand architecture and history. I wanted to capture three “petites rues” that felt like home to me, if only fleetingly. Streets that saw moments spent well with friends and partners, where we could disappear for a few hours or minutes into our own parcel of city. Petites Rues is written for classical flute and jazz trio, with influences from French jazz, chanson française, romanticism, and my favorite jazz-rock music.

Rue Foyatier is a secret hidden in plain sight. On the hill of Montmartre, silent snowflakes halo the streetlamps that dot the climb towards Paris’s crown, Sacré-Coeur. At the top of the steps, you turn a corner and find yourself at the top of the sloping lawn, under the brilliant white cathedral, and the whole of Paris is laid out below like a vast painting.

The bustle, the storefronts, the markets, the fresh flowers, the food - all make Rue Cler a magnet. So we end up here again, crowding chairs around a tiny table telling stories about how we found ourselves in this city. 

Passage des Taillandiers has nothing on it, but it functions something like a side room to the neighborhood of concerts and dancing around it. Standing in this passage, you can hear moments of music weaving together from nearby streets, but you're out of the way, in a little sidestreet where dancers rest their feet and smoke.

Written for flute, piano, bass, and drums | 16’30”

Audio from a reading by Isabelle Pazar, Joe Block, Luquez Curtis, and Anton Kot.