Pianist of Armenian origin, André Manoukian and his trio join forces with Balkanes, a Bulgarian polyphonic ensemble, for a voyage through the Levant of his ancestry where atmospheric jazz is enriched with Balkan sounds. With Guillaume Latil on cello and Mosin Kawa on tabla, André Manoukian's compositions, influenced by the music of his ancestors, harmonize with the female quartet’s original repertoire created from traditional songs. A true immersion in a universe of oriental sounds, this magical music of multiple voices intertwine to generously tell stories as funny as they are melancholic.

Born in an emergency, the album “Beirut-Express” is the result of a concert organized by Dida Guigan in Lausanne in August 2020 to raise funds to help the victims of the explosion in the Lebanese port, which occurred a few days earlier. Organized with the help of François Lindemann, the evening brought together musicians of Swiss and Arab origin on stage at the Casino of Montbenon in Lausanne. Touched by the generosity of the musicians and the enthusiasm of the public, this Lebanese-Swiss, who grew up in Cully, used this momentum to record an album. This tribute to jazz’s Arab heritage brings together exceptional talents around the vocalist.