François Couturier (born 2 May 1950 in Fleury-les-Aubrais, Orléans) is a French jazz pianist.

Biography

Couturier began learning piano at the age of six. A year after earning his degree in classical piano and

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

in 1977, he met Jacques Thollot's quartet bassist Jean-Paul Céléa, with whom he formed a duo. Between 1981 and 1983, Couturier toured with John McLaughlin, with whom he also recorded. Over time, he played with French jazz musicians such as André Ceccarelli, Eddy Louiss,

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on 2 ...

, François Jeanneau and with

Daniel Humair Daniel Humair (born 23 May 1938 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss drummer, composer, and painter. He is widely renowned and became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 and Officier in 1992. He has played with many jazz p ...

. After first meeting during the 1985 edition of the Festival de Carthage, Couturier collaborated on Tunisian oud player

Anouar Brahem Anouar Brahem ( أنور براهم); born on 20 October 1957) is a Tunisian oud player and composer. He is widely acclaimed as an innovator in his field. Performing primarily for a jazz audience, he combines Arabic classical music, folk music and ...

's albums '' Khomsa'' (1994), '' Le pas du Chat Noir'' (2001) and ''

Le Voyage de Sahar ''Le Voyage de Sahar'' is an album by Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem recorded in February 2005 and released on ECM April the following year.ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

alongside soprano saxophonist Jean-Marc Larché, accordionist

Jean-Louis Matinier Jean-Louis Matinier (born 1963 in Nevers, France) is a leading contemporary accordion player in the fields of jazz and world music. Life and work Matinier studied classical music, then turned to jazz and other forms of improvised music. From 198 ...

and

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Anja Lechner. The album is dedicated to the film director

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

and his films. The album's music was also presented at various festivals, first in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

in 2006. Other albums with the "Tarkovsky Quartet" followed in 2011 and 2017. In 2007, he played in the quintet "Passaggio", with which he recorded two albums on Label Bleu, and in the "European Jazz Trio" with Céléa and Wolfgang Reisinger. He also plays in duo with the violinist Dominique Pifarély on his album ''Poros'' (1997) and with the pianist Jean-Pierre Chalet. With the

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

Dominique Visse he recorded ''From Machaut to Berio''.

Discography

* 2014: With the cellist Anja Lechner ''Moderato cantabile'', ECM New Series 2367, 2014.''Improvisation mit fünf Lebenslinien'' in FAZ vom 16.

Honors

* 1981: Prix Django Reinhardt

References

External links

*
Website des Künstlers

Biographie bei Label Bleu

Biographie bei ECM und zu seinem Album Nostalghia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couturier, Francois French jazz pianists French male pianists Jazz fusion musicians 1950 births Living people Musicians from Orléans French male jazz musicians Label Bleu artists ECM Records artists