Alexandre Destrez (born 29 May 1969) is a French

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Compositions deposited at the SACEM
/ref> and

musical arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

. He is particularly well known for his musical collaboration on the ''

Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

'' and ''

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

'' albums of St. Germain.

Biography

Son of the French actor and director Thierry Destrez, Alexandre grew up in the western suburbs of Paris. He became interested in music at the age of nine, teaching himself to play on his mother's old piano and continuing to be self-taught for several years. Following a "self-directed" scolarity, Destrez decided to concentrate entirely on his music to the exclusion of everything else. He left home and for several years earned his living by doing casual jobs while still focusing on the piano. At the age of 20, he began studying at the American School of Modern Music to deepen his knowledge of harmony, composition and arrangement. But it was his meeting with Philippe Bestion which was to have a profound impact on Destrez, enabling him to perfect his sense of improvisation and also discover such artists as

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

. At 23, Destrez embarked on his first concert tour alongside a French song artist. One year later, he was spotted by Ludovic Navarre, (alias St. Germain) with whom he recorded the much acclaimed "Deep in it" which figures on the album ''

'' (

F Communications F Communications, also known as FCom, was a French record label based in Paris. It was founded in 1994 by Eric Morand and Laurent Garnier. It produces dance and electronic music by artists like Avril, Garnier, and Mr. Oizo amongst many others. ...

). In 1996, he made a European concert tour with St. Germain and continued to collaborate with him over several years. His phrasing and sense of melody have become key values, particularly on the album ''

'' (

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

), which sold over three million copies worldwide. It was also rated best selling jazz album on its release in the US and awarded 3 "Victoires de la Musique" in France. Since then, Destrez has collaborated with numerous artists and has participated in diverse musical projects as composer, co-composer and/or instrumentalist (

Shazz Shazz, (born Didier Delesalle, 1967) is a French record producer and remixer. Shazz is the alias for Soul house and Jazz. Shazz is one of the first artists signed to the label Fnac Music Dance Division. He collaborated with Ludovic Navarre (Sain ...

, Overhead, Oscar, Anthony Fletcher,

Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

Dimitri from Paris Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitrios Yerasimos, el, Δημήτριος Γεράσιμος; 27 October 1963) is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contempo ...

, DJ Yass...) Since 2012, Destrez is working on his new electro jazz project Rive GaucheRive Gauche Website
/ref> from which the first EP ''Walking...'' was released in 2016 on BBE records label.Rive Gauche on BBE Records
/ref> Since the end of 2012, he has been performing throughout France accompanied by his musicians.

Musical collaborations

Main collaborations

In 1995, Destrez recorded "Deep In It" and "Street Scene" (4 SHAZZ) on St. Germain's album ''

''. This was followed by several years of collaboration with Ludovic Navarre, starting from the 1996 concert tour in France and Europe up to the recording of the ''

'' album (

Blue Note records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

) in 2001. Simultaneously, using the pseudonym Alejandro Del Abelgam, he became the accomplice of another phenomenon of the French House scene:

. He participated in the first eponymous album ''Shazz'' nominated in the French award ceremony "

Victoires de la musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

" then at the EP "El Camino Project" ( Yellow Prod) and appeared for the first time as artist on the maxi vinyl ''Shazz & Alexandre Destrez, Hermosa Maria'' (

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

). They went on to jointly produce two titles for Aco, a young singer well known in Japan. In 2001, the second album from Shazz, ''In the light'' (

) came out, on which Destrez composed, arranged, interpreted and collaborated with

and directed the musicians during recording sessions. In 2004, on a third album entitled ''Beautiful'', (Ulm/Universal), Destrez can be heard performing in an even more developed jazz style on a track of the same name. In 2000, Destrez met the group Overhead and became its keyboard player, signing up as artist with

Naïve Records Naïve Records is a French independent record label based in Paris, specializing in electronic music, pop music, jazz and classical music. Founding and expansion It was founded in 1998 by Patrick Zelnik, former CEO of Virgin France, Gilles Paire ...

. The group's first album ''Silent Witness'' was acclaimed unanimously by the press. (

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

, "ffff"

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

). Two important events for the group were the concert at "

La Cigale La Cigale (; English: ''The Cicada'') is a theatre located at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex connected to the Le Trabendo concert venue and the Boule Noir ...

" and a concert on one of

Bernard Lenoir Bernard Lenoir (born 13 September 1945) is a former radio presenter. He was born in Algeria, which he left in 1962, working on the Côte d'Azur as a DJ. He briefly san in a surf pop group called ''Les Radis Beurre''. ''Best'' n°122, avril 1987) Le ...

's '

Black Sessions Black Sessions are performances of live music broadcast on the French radio station France Inter. They are recorded in front of a live audience and feature on the '' C'est Lenoir'' show. The name is a pun based on the name of their creator, Bern ...

' programmes dedicated to Overhead and broadcast live on

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

. In 2002, David Hachour and Florent Sabaton (alias Oscar), in need of a pianist for their first concert at the Rex Club, contacted Destrez. He went on to join the group and collaborated on several Maxi vinyls and two albums from Oscar: ''Parisian Soul'' (2003) and ''Portrait Robot'' (2004) with Denote Records. In 2004, Alex composed and interpreted ''Echoes'' and ''Echoes Extended Version'' (piano solo) for Oscar and Blanck Project respectively. He featured alongside Oscar on the track "Mon plus beau matin" (additional track on the Japanese version of the album ''Portrait Robot''). He also signed up with

for his first remix "Latin Break revisited by Alexandre Destrez" (2005

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

ULM). In 2005, Destrez composed and collaborated with David H. on the music of Alabama 65, a project inspired by a cappella recordings made in 1948 of Afro-Americans incarcerated in Alabama. In 2007, the maxi vinyl of Oscar was released featuring Destrez on ''Silent Day'' (Denote Records). Destrez also appeared alongside Anthony Fletcher with the release in 2009 of the album ''Anthony Fletcher Paris''. This was followed by a concert tour in France and a live performance on

Stéphane Bern Stéphane Bern, OBE (; born 14 November 1963) is a French-Luxembourgish journalist, radio host and television presenter. He is known as a specialist in nobility and royalty. He has been awarded honours by several nations, including the Ordre de ...

's programme ''Le Fou du Roi'' on

. Another album "I Guess" was released in 2011. Since 2005, Destrez has collaborated with the DJ producer Yass and has released over twenty maxi vinyl albums and remixes including: * Inner Soul "Support your Dj" (Deeply Rooted House - 2005) * Ziggy Funk ft Taliwa "Everyday" (Yass classic mix - Foliage - 2011) * Rocco Feat Akram "Working Hard" (Yass remix-House Afrika - 2012) * Yass & Rony Breaker feat. Nickson Phala "African Woman" (Foliage - 2013) * Djeff Afrozila & Hallex M feat. Mr V "Let’s Get It" (Sole Channel - 2013) Destrez has regularly accompanied Yass on keyboard during his concerts in Paris (2007), Pragues (2011), Budapest (2012), Tbilissi (2012), Tbilissi (2013), Varsovie (2013), Tbilissi (2013) Thonon-les-Bains (2013), Batumi (2013) and Marrakech (2014).

Collaborations as an instrumentalist

Studio pianist and keyboardist

Dimitri From Paris Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitrios Yerasimos, el, Δημήτριος Γεράσιμος; 27 October 1963) is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contempo ...

on the remix of Móa "Joy Pain" (1998) and on the album of

Bran Van 3000 Bran Van 3000 (also known as BV3) is a Canadian alternative rock and hip hop collective from Montreal, Quebec. Founded by James Di Salvio and E.P. Bergen, they collaborated on a number of songs with Stéphane Moraille, Sara Johnston, Steve "Liqui ...

"Discosis" (2001) *

on the cover version of "Requiem Pour Un Con" (

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

) on the album "Hedonist" (

- 2005) - nomination aux

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

. * Julien Baer on the album "Notre Dame des Limites" (2005)

Stage pianist and keyboardist

Nelly Mella: (Procédé Guimard Delaunay - PGD) * Preview of the concert tour L’Estival (La Clef - St Germain en Laye - 2005) * Public recording of the album "Les Signes" at Jean Vilar Theatre (Marly-le-Roi - 2005) * Concert at the Théâtre du Rond-Point (Paris - 2006) David Grumel * Festival Musilac (Aix les Bains – 2006) * Le Brise Glace (Annecy - 2007) Tania de Montaigne: at L’Européen and at the Réservoir (Paris – 2007) - with guests: Jo Wedin and Bibi Tanga singing, Martin Bauer on the viola da gamba E.T. on the Beach: * at "La CLEF" (Saint-Germain-en-Laye - March 2011) - guest Sodadeth San * at the "Vingtième Théâtre" (Paris - May 2011) guests: Sodadeth San,

Phoebe Killdeer Phoebe Killdeer (born 1977) is an Australian musician and the lead singer of the groups Phoebe Killdeer & the Short Straws and Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift. She is best known for her song " The Fade Out Line", which became a major international h ...

(

Nouvelle Vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

) et Olivier Coursier (

AaRON According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

)

Original film soundtracks

* "Le Ciel, les Oiseaux et... ta mère !" directed by Djamel Bensalah (1999) – The title "Hermosa Maria" by

& Alexandre Destrez * "Sauve-moi" directed by Christian Vincent (2000) – Piano recording of music by

Philippe Cohen Solal Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...

(

Gotan Project Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...

) * "

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

" (

Coline Serreau Coline Serreau (born 29 October 1947) is a French actress, film director and writer. Early life and education She was born in Paris, the daughter of theatre director Jean-Marie Serreau and actress Geneviève Serreau. In Paris, Serreau studie ...

) (2001) – recording with

Ludovic Navarre Ludovic Navarre (, born 10 April 1969), known by his stage name St Germain, is a French musician. His style has been described as being a combination of house and nu jazz music. Career Navarre's album ''Boulevard'' was released in July 1995 and ...

( St. Germain) of the original soundtrack (released in 2002)

Selected discography and concerts (by artist)

With St. Germain

* 1995: Album "

" ( F Com) * 1996: Concert tour in France and Europe * 1997: St. Germain Remix

Pierre Henry Henry at his home (January 2008) Pierre Georges Albert François Henry (; 9 December 1927 – 5 July 2017) was a French composer and pioneer of musique concrète. Biography Henry was born in Paris, France, and began experimenting at the age of ...

"Messe Pour Le Temps Présent" (

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

) * 1999: "From Detroit to St Germain" ( F Com) * 2001: Album "

" (

) - 3

– N°1 best selling jazz album in the USA * 2002: Original film soundtrack of "

CHAOS Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

" (

) * 2012: Album "Tourist remasterisé"

With
Shazz Shazz, (born Didier Delesalle, 1967) is a French record producer and remixer. Shazz is the alias for Soul house and Jazz. Shazz is one of the first artists signed to the label Fnac Music Dance Division. He collaborated with Ludovic Navarre (Sain ...

* 1998: Eponymous album "Shazz"(Columbia) – Nomination at the

* 2001: Album "In The Light"(

) * 2001: Maxi vinyl recording of Shazz & Alexandre Destrez "Hermosa Maria" (

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

) * 2002: Remix album "In The Night" (

) * 2004: Shazz "Beautiful"(ULM) * 2005: Human ? (

) * 2008: Concert in St.Petersburg and Moscow with

Stéphane Pompougnac Stéphane Pompougnac (born 1968) is a French house DJ and record producer. Biography Pompougnac was born in Paris in 1968 to a psychotherapist and a dental surgeon. He spent his early life in Bordeaux. His first job was as a waiter at the cour ...

for the compilation "

Hôtel Costes The Hôtel Costes is a luxury hotel in Paris, France. Located at 7 Rue de Castiglione, it is perhaps best known for its bar and courtyard café. History The hotel was commissioned by the Costes brothers, Jean-Louis and Gilbert, from the designe ...

Volume 11" * 2009: Album "Heritage" (

Pschent The pschent (; Greek '' ψχέντ'') was the double crown worn by rulers in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians generally referred to it as sekhemty (''sḫm.ty''), the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt and ...

) - Concert at the

Midem Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

With
Dimitri from Paris Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitrios Yerasimos, el, Δημήτριος Γεράσιμος; 27 October 1963) is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contempo ...

* 1998: Remix of MOA "Joy Pain" (Tommy Boy) * 2001: Featuring on the album of

"Discosis"

With Overhead

* 2002: Album "Silent Witness" (

) - ffff

- Concert at the

TransMusicales Les Rencontres Trans Musicales (generally referred to as ''Les Transmusicales de Rennes'') is a music festival that lasts for 3 or 4 days. It is held annually in December. The festival takes place in Rennes, Brittany, France. Since the festival's b ...

in Rennes * Live concert broadcast on

for one of

's "

shows" * Concert at

for the "Festival des Inrockuptibles"

With Oscar

* 2002: Concert at the "Rex Club" in Paris * 2003: Album "Parisian Soul" (Denote Records) and concerts in France and Belgium * 2004: Album "Portrait Robot" (Denote Records) and concerts at the "FrancoPhonic Festival" in Berlin and the "

FrancoFolies de La Rochelle Les Francofolies () are an annual music festival founded in 1985 in La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes, France as an initiative of Jean-Louis Foulquier. It is usually held annually in July and aims at promoting French-language music. Number of thos ...

With
Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

* 2005: Album "Hedonist" (

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

) nominated at the

With Anthony Fletcher

* 2009: Eponymous album "Anthony Fletcher Paris" * French tour and live concert during the

programme "Le Fou du Roi" broadcast on "

" * 2011: Album "I Guess"

With DJ Yass

Over twenty singles and remix albums made since 2005 as pianist, composer or producer, including: * 2011: Remix "Everyday" (Foliage) * 2012: Remix "Working Hard" (House Afrika) * 2013: "Bring it Up" (Kingstreet) / "Who You Are" (Purple Music) / "African Woman" (Foliage) / "Z-Tribute" (Street King) / Remix "Let’s Get It" (Sole Channel) * 2014: Concert with Dj Yass et Jay Sebag (singer on songs of

) au SO Night Lounge Marrakech * Since 2001: Concerts in Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Tbilissi, Batumi (Georgia 2014-2015), Termoli (Italia 2015) Varna (Bulgaria 2014-2015), Sofia (Bulgaria 2015)

With David H

* 2005: Creation of the "Alabama 65" projectAlabama 65 music
/ref> * 2012: Creation of "RIVE GAUCHE" electro jazz project * 2012: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Electro Jazz Festival" in Megève (Haute-Savoie, France) * 2013: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Silvain Theatre in Marseille (Festival Borderline - May 2013) * 2014: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at Magazine Club of Lille (France) * 2015: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Jazz Festival Eclats d'Email of LimogesEclats d'Email Jazz Festival Programmation 2015
/ref> (France) * 2016: Release of the first EP with RIVE GAUCHE ''Walking...'' on BBE records label

References

External links

Official website Alexandre Destrez

Rive Gauche Website

Soundcloud Rive Gauche

Soundcloud Alexandre Destrez

Alabama 65 Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Destrez, Alexandre French electronic musicians French house musicians 20th-century French male pianists 21st-century French male pianists 1969 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people)