French pianist Laurent Coq and American saxophonist Walter Smith III are teaming up with Joe Sanders on bass and Damion Reid on drums to bring you ‘The Lafayette Suite’. The album, recorded in NYC last September over the course of two days, is an homage to Gilbert de Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a young French aristocrat who traveled overseas to fight alongside the American insurgents against the British forces. To Coq and Smith III, Lafayette “embodies the audacity and the capacity to dive into the unknown – qualities that jazz musicians have always strived to develop – and he symbolizes better than anybody else the friendship between France and America”. The two men are presently crowdsourcing the project on European platform KissKissBankBank and are looking to raise €5,500 or roughly $6,200. The raised funds will be put towards the manufacturing of the album, graphic design, photography and translation fees as well as launching the album with the help of a publicist. The rewards offered for this endeavor range from an advanced digital download of the album (€10) to a private concert by Coq’s trio (€1,000). Other interesting offerings include signed copies of the album as well as other previously released albums by Coq and Smith III, a complete set of ‘The Lafayette Suite’ charts and Skype lessons with the musicians. Make sure to check out the campaign’s fundraising video as well as an album preview below the jump.