Plat du Jour -

Plat du Jour was a French jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album on Speedball in 1977.

Members: Vincent Denis (vocals, guitar), Rodolphe Moulin (bass), Oliver Pedron (percussion), François Ovide (percussion), Alain Potier (saxophone), Jacques Staub (keyboards, percussion), François Maze (vocals)

Background

Plat du Jour (Dish of the Day) hailed from Rouen, the capital of Normandy in northern France. They formed in 1974 under mysterious circumstances stabilized as a sextet.

Alain Potier and François Ovide hailed from So & Co, which issued a 1975 album on Pathé and served as a backing band for Gérard Entremont. Ovide also played on 1976 albums by Albert Marcœur and Dick Annegarn.

Plat du Jour

Plat du Jour released their self-titled album in 1977 on Speedball Records.

The album combines jazz-rock, Zeuhl, and avant-garde elements into a complex, high-energy sound that alternates between dense instrumental passages and manic vocal sections. Recorded by a reformed Rouen lineup, the album integrates fuzz guitar, electric piano, and saxophone interplay in a restless fusion that touches Canterbury, Mahavishnu-style fusion, and early Gong.

The lineup features guitarist–vocalist Vincent Denis, bassist–vocalist Rodolphe Moulin, saxophonist–vocalist Alain Potier, keyboardist–percussionist Jacques Staub, drummer–percussionist Olivier Pedron, and percussionist François Ovide, with guest vocals by François Maze.

Keyboardist Jacques Staub wrote three of the album’s six songs and co-wrote one apiece with lyricist Patrick Doray and percussionist Ovide. Bassist Rodolphe Moulin wrote two tracks and co-wrote one with Potier.

The album opens with “5 & 11,” an eleven-minute sequence that evolves from subdued electric piano and saxophone textures into angular guitar and heavy rhythmic shifts. “Autoroute” continues the theme in two sections, beginning with a restrained jazz pulse before transitioning into a dense, rhythmically unstable fusion episode with phased guitar and brisk percussion. “Zilbra” contrasts festive scat vocalizing with rapid tempo changes, moving from upbeat jazz-fusion to a heavy instrumental break.

Side two opens with “Totem,” an eight-minute composition built on a mid-tempo funk rhythm that features wild vocal phrasing and extended organ and guitar interplay. “L’Homme” scales back to acoustic guitar and light percussion, a folk-style ballad with electric piano and fuzz guitar overlays. The closing “Rock’n Speed” lives up to its title with fast-paced saxophone runs and percussive intensity before resolving into a gradual, slowed coda.

A1. “5 & 11” (6:35) – Written by Rodolphe Moulin. Opens with subdued saxophone and electric piano, gradually building into angular guitar and drum passages. Vocals alternate between shouting and singing, while phased guitar picking and steady hi-hat introduce urgency before a climactic guitar solo.

A2. “Autoroute” (4:45) – Written by Jacques Staub. Combines ambient synth washes with driving bass and guitar eruptions. Sections shift abruptly between spacey textures and Zeuhl/Canterbury-inspired jazz-rock, marked by dynamic instrumental interplay.

A3. “Zilbra” (4:50) – Written by Jacques Staub; Percussions by François Ovide. Begins with upbeat, scat-like vocals and festal rhythms, moving into laid-back guitar figures. Jazz-inflected guitar solos emerge before a sudden heavy rock section with aggressive vocals.

B1. “Totem” (8:05) – Written by Jacques Staub and P. Doray; Vocals by François Maze. Features a mid-paced, funky rhythmic pattern under energetic vocals. Organ and guitar lead into extended instrumental sections, alternating tension and release throughout.

B2. “L’Homme” (4:45) – Written by Alain Potier and Rodolphe Moulin. Stripped-down acoustic guitar and vocals form the core, accented by subtle percussion and electric piano. A fuzzed-out guitar line develops midway, complementing the otherwise restrained arrangement.

B3. “Rock’n’ Speed” (5:50) – Written by Rodolphe Moulin. Opens with jazzy saxophone solos and fast-paced band passages. The ensemble shifts tempo and intensity, alternating energetic rock sections with more atmospheric, mellow interludes.

Sessions occurred at Studio Iris in Milizac with production by Plat du Jour and Speedball. Gilles Salle engineered and mixed the recordings, assisted by Olivier Croquennec.

Plat du Jour features sleeve graphics by B. Petit and photography by G. Mangolt. This was the only Speedball release apart from a 7″ of “Totem” (b/w “Zil-Bra”) and a single by Bracos Band.

Postlude

Olivier Pedron joined Gwendal in time for their 1979 fourth album. Ovide played on 1979/80 albums by Marcœur (Armes & Cycles) and Jean-Philippe Goude. He joined the Eighties Gwendal lineup and backed John Greaves on the former Henry Cow bassist’s second solo album, Parrot Fashions.

In 2016, archivists Paisley Press reissued Plat du Jour on LP and CD, restoring one of the most prized French fusion obscurities of the late 1970s.

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