🎙️🎺🇫🇷 À la française is the first collaborative album from Hiba Tawaji and Ibrahim Maalouf, a heartfelt tribute to the timeless legacy of French chanson. Blending soaring vocals, rich orchestral arrangements, jazz influences and subtle Eastern colours, the duo reimagines beloved classics through their own artistic lens.

✨ Released on 18 September 2026, the album features the Orchestre de la Garde républicaine alongside a jazz quintet, creating a sound that feels both intimate and cinematic. It showcases Hiba Tawaji's powerful and emotional voice, elevated by Ibrahim Maalouf's elegant and inventive arrangements.

🎶 The repertoire includes iconic French songs such as La Bohème, Que je t'aime, La Javanaise, Fais-moi une place, Les Mots bleus, Jardin d'hiver, Paradis blanc, Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai and Toulouse.

💙 More than a covers album, À la française is a love letter to French musical heritage. Through their chemistry as performers and partners, Hiba Tawaji and Ibrahim Maalouf transform these classics into a refined, emotional journey that bridges generations, cultures and musical traditions.

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La javanaise | Hiba Tawaji & Ibrahim Maalouf

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Stella Cole is a beautiful reimagining of one of the most beloved songs in American music. With her warm, velvety voice and timeless jazz sensibility, Stella Cole brings a fresh elegance to the classic while preserving the sense of hope, wonder, and nostalgia that has made the song endure for generations.

Album Review | À la française 🎙️🇫🇷🎺

There is something distinctly Blue Note in the spirit of À la française. Not because Hiba Tawaji and Ibrahim Maalouf simply revisit the French songbook, but because they approach it with the same reverence for melody, atmosphere and emotional truth that has defined the greatest jazz recordings for decades. Drawing from iconic chansons while embracing orchestral grandeur, jazz freedom and subtle Eastern textures, the duo creates an album that feels timeless rather than nostalgic.

At the centre of the project stands Hiba Tawaji's voice: luminous, expressive and effortlessly cinematic. Whether interpreting beloved classics such as La Bohème or Que je t'aime, she resists imitation, choosing instead to uncover new shades of vulnerability and elegance. Around her, Ibrahim Maalouf's arrangements breathe with remarkable sophistication, allowing brass, strings and rhythm to converse naturally, much like a great jazz ensemble finding its collective pulse.

The presence of the Orchestre de la Garde républicaine alongside a jazz quintet gives the album a rich sense of scale. Yet the production never feels overwhelming. Every note serves the song, every orchestral flourish deepens the narrative. The result is a collection that honours the heritage of French chanson while presenting it through a modern, internationally minded lens.

Blue Note Records

Like the finest Blue Note releases, À la française balances technical excellence with soul. It is refined without being distant, ambitious without being excessive, and deeply emotional without ever becoming sentimental. More than a tribute album, it is a statement of artistic identity from two musicians who understand that great songs never age, they simply find new voices through which to speak. ✨🎷💙🇫🇷

Rating: ★★★★½☆ (4.5/5) 🌙🎶🎺💙