Géraldine Laurent (born 18 January 1975) is a French

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. Laurent studied classical piano at the

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...

conservatoire before changing to

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

at the age of 12. She has been a member of the Christophe Joneau quartet. In parallel with her main trio with Yoni Zelnik and Laurent Bataille, she also had a trio with Hélène Labarrière et Éric Groleau, concentrating more on free improvisation. She prefers to play

jazz standards Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list ...

to original compositions, and cites

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

and

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

among her influences.

Discography

As leader

*2007: ''Time Out Trio'', with Yoni Zelnik and Laurent Bataille (Dreyfus Jazz, Sony bmg) *2015: ''At Work''

With Aldo Romano

*2008: ''Just Jazz'', with

Aldo Romano Aldo Romano (born 16 January 1941) is an Italian jazz drummer. He also founded a rock group in 1971. Biography He was born in Belluno, Italy. Romano moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in P ...

Henri Texier Henri Texier (born 27 January 1945) is a French jazz double bassist. At the age of sixteen, fascinated by the double bass, Texier became a self-taught bassist, crediting Wilbur Ware most as an influence. He formed his first group with Georges L ...

, Mauro Negri *2010: ''Complete Communion to Don Cherry'', with Romano, Texier,

Fabrizio Bosso Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to: * Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver * Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian politician * Fabrizio Brienza (born 1969), Italian mo ...

With Christophe Joneau

*2003: ''Lavaud Gelade'', Christophe Joneau Quartet

With Charles Bellonzi

*2006: ''Abracadadrums'', with Charles Bellonzi, Eric Prost, Frédéric d'Oelsnitz, François Gallix (DBA Productions)

References

*"Le mystère Géraldine Laurent", ''

Jazzman "Jazzman" is a 1974 song performed by Carole King, from her album ''Wrap Around Joy''. King composed the music for the song, while David Palmer (formerly of Steely Dan) wrote the lyrics. The song is best known for its lengthy saxophone solos, ...

'', n°138, September 2007, p. 24 *"Géraldine Laurent, Doutes, paradoxes et certitudes", '' Jazz Magazine'', n°586, p. 46 {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurent, Geraldine French jazz saxophonists Women jazz saxophonists 1975 births Living people 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century French women musicians