Henri Texier (born 27 January 1945) 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 ...

double bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Simila ...

. At the age of sixteen, fascinated by the double bass, Texier became a self-taught bassist, crediting

Wilbur Ware Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for t ...

most as an influence. He formed his first group with Georges Locatelli, Alain Tabar-Nouval,

Jean-Max Albert Jean-Max Albert (born 1942) is a French painter, sculptor, writer, and musician. He has published theory, books on artists, and a collection of poems, plays and novels inspired by quantum physics. He perpetuated experiments initiated by Paul Klee ...

, and Klaus Hagel, inspired by the music of

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

and

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

. In spite of an almost absence of recorded documents this group represents one of the first expressions of

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

in France (1965). From 1968 to 1972, Textier was a member of

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

And His European Rhythm Machine, along with

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, ...

Gordon Beck Gordon James Beck (16 September 1935 – 6 November 2011) was an English jazz pianist and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name. Early life Beck was born in Brixton, London, and attended Pinner Count ...

and

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 ...

. Throughout the 1970s, Texier remained active in Europe on the jazz scene, performing with musicians such as John Abercrombie and

Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...

, among others. In 1982, he formed a quartet with

Louis Sclavis Louis Sclavis (born 2 February 1953) is a French jazz musician. He performs on clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano saxophone in a variety of contexts, including avant-garde jazz, free jazz, free improvisation and contemporary classical. Life ...

. With the trio Romano-Sclavis-Texier, he collaborated in three albums having for theme Africa as seen by the photographer

Guy Le Querrec Guy Le Querrec (born 1941 in Paris, France) is a French photographer and filmmaker, noted for his documentary images of jazz musicians. He is a member of Magnum Photos. Career Le Querrec took his first photographs as a teenager using a basic Fex ...

: ''Carnet de routes'', ''Suite africaine'' and ''African Flashback''.Musique Française

Discography

As leader

* ''Total Issue'' with Total Issue (United Artists, 1971) * ''Amir'' (Eurodisc, 1976) * ''Humair Jeanneau Texier'' (Owl, 1979) * ''Varech'' (JMS, 1979) * ''A Cordes et a Cris'' (JMS, 1979) * ''Akagera'' with

, Francois Jeanneau (JMS, 1980) * ''La Companera'' (Caratini, 1983) * ''Paris-Batignolles'' with Joe Lovano (Label Bleu, 1986) * ''Eric Barret/Aldo Romano/Henri Texier'' (Carlyne, 1988) * ''Izlaz'' (Label Bleu, 1988) * ''Colonel Skopje'' (Label Bleu, 1989) * ''Up Date 3.3'' with Daniel Humair, Francois Jeanneau (Label Bleu, 1990) * ''The Scene Is Clean'' (Label Bleu, 1991) * ''An Indian's Week'' (Label Bleu, 1993) * ''Tresse'' with

Pietro Tonolo Pietro Tonolo (born 30 May 1959) is an Italian jazz saxophone player and composer. Biography He was born in Mirano, Italy. Pietro Tonolo gave up a career as a classical violinist to become a jazz sax player. Around that time, he moved to Milan, ...

, Aldo Romano (SplascH, 1993) * ''Carnet de Routes'' with Romano Sclavis (Label Bleu, 1995) * ''Respect'' (Label Bleu, 1997) * ''Le Coffret JMS'' (JMS, 1998) * ''Mosaic Man'' (Label Bleu, 1998) * ''Carnet de Routes Suite African'' with Romano Sclavis (Label Bleu, 1999) * ''Remparts D'Argile'' (Label Bleu, 2000) * ''Strings' Spirit'' (Label Bleu, 2002) * ''Mad Nomads'' (Label Bleu, 2002) * ''Holy Lola'' (Normal, 2004) * ''Vivre'' (Label Bleu, 2004) * ''African Flashback'' with Romano Sclavis (Label Bleu, 2005) * ''Alerte a L'Eau Water Alert'' (Label Bleu, 2006) * ''Love Songs Reflexions'' (Label Bleu, 2008) * ''Canto Negro'' (Label Bleu, 2011) * ''3+3'' with Romano Sclavis (Label Bleu, 2012) * ''At L'Improviste'' (Label Bleu, 2013) * ''Sky Dancers'' (Label Bleu, 2016) * ''Dakota Mab Live at Theater Gutersloh'' (Intuition, 2016) * ''Sand Woman'' (Label Bleu, 2018) * ''Chance'' (Label Bleu, 2020) * ''Heteroklite Lockdown'' (Label Bleu, 2022)

As sideman

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 ...

* ''Just Jazz'' (Dreyfus, 2008) * ''Complete Communion to Don Cherry'' (Dreyfus, 2010) * ''Desireless'' (Musica Jazz 2010) * ''Liberi Sumus Live Au Triton'' (Le Triton 2014) With

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

* ''African Cookbook'' (Polydor, 1969) * ''Niles Littlebig'' (Polydor, 1969) * ''Randy Weston's African Rhythms'' (Comet, 2002) With

* ''Alive and Well in Paris'' (Pathe, 1968) * ''At the Montreux Jazz Festival'' (MGM, 1970) * ''Phil Woods and His European Rhythm Machine'' (Pierre Cardin, 1970) * ''At the Frankfurt Jazz Festival'' (Embryo, 1971) With others *

Georges Arvanitas Georges Arvanitas (June 13, 1931 – September 25, 2005) was a French jazz pianist and organist. Life and career He was born in Marseille, a child of Greek immigrants from Constantinople. At the age of four he began studying piano and initially ...

, Michel Graillier, ''Pianos Puzzle'' (Saravah, 1970) * Claude Barthelemy, ''Jaune et Encore'' (Cobalt, 1979) *

Jean-Jacques Birge Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 1 ...

, ''Sarajevo Suite'' (L'Empreinte, 1994) *

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

, ''What Happens?'' (Campi, 1968) *

Claudio Fasoli Claudio Fasoli (born 29 November 1939) is an Italian jazz - saxophonist (tenor and soprano saxophone) and composer of modern jazz. Music career Born in Venice, he now lives in Milan, Italy. After a long apprenticeship and many sessions with va ...

, ''Ten Tributes'' (RAM, 1995) *

, ''Trois Trios'' (SplascH, 1999) *

Jef Gilson Jean-François Quiévreux (25 July 1926 – 5 February 2012), better known as Jef Gilson, was a French clarinetist, pianist, arranger, vocalist, composer and big band leader. "In the occupation of which he initiated groups" proved Gilson "an ex ...

, ''Enfin!'' (Club de L'Echiquier, 1963) *

, Jean-Luc Ponty, ''OEil Vision'' (Club de L'Echiquier, 1964) *

Jimmy Gourley James Pasco Gourley, Jr. (June 9, 1926 – December 7, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist who spent most of his life in Paris. Gourley was born in St. Louis in 1926. He met saxophonist Lee Konitz in Chicago when both were members of the s ...

, ''Graffitti'' (Promophone, 1977) *

Michel Godard Michel Godard is a French avant-garde jazz and classical musician. He plays tuba and the predecessor of the tuba, a brass instrument known as the serpent. Career At 18, Godard was a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio-France. He has ...

Jean-Marc Padovani Jean-Marc Padovani (born February 2, 1956) is a French jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger. Career Born in 1956 in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, Padovani now lives in Toulouse.Jean-Marc Le Scouarnec"Toulouse. Jean-Marc Padovani, aventurier du ...

, ''Comedy'' (Big Noise, 1987) *

, ''2001 Keys Piano Conclave'' (Atlantic, 1974) *

Henri Guedon Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

, ''Afro Temple'' (Le Chant du Monde, 1984) *

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

, ''Mellow-dy'' (LRC, 1992) *

, ''Surrounded 1964 & 87'' (Blue Flame, 1987) * Francois Jeanneau, ''Ephemere'' (Owl, 1977) * Francois Jeanneau, ''Terrains Vagues'' (Owl, 1983) * Bill Keith, ''Bill Keith & Jim Collier'' (Hexagone 1979) *

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

Martial Solal Martial Solal (born August 23, 1927) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Biography Solal was born in Algiers, French Algeria, to Algerian Jewish parents. He was persuaded to study clarinet, saxophone, and piano by his mother, who was an opera ...

, ''European Episode'' (Campi, 1969) * Lee Konitz & Martial Solal, ''Impressive Rome'' (Campi, 1969) *

Guy Lafitte Guy Lafitte (12 January 1927 – 10 June 1998) was a French jazz saxophonist. Career A native of Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne, France, he worked with Mezz Mezzrow from 1951 to 1952 and Big Bill Broonzy in 1951. In 1954 he made Paris his home and ...

, ''Blues'' (Vega, 1969) * Guy Lafitte, ''Blues in Summertime'' (RCA Victor, 1971) *

Julien Lourau Julien Lourau (born 3/2/1970) is a French jazz saxophonist. He is the son of sociologist René Lourau. Julien Lourau made his début in the group Trash Corporation with guitarist Noël Akchoté and pianist Bojan Zulfikarpasic. He also founded ...

, ''The Rise'' (Label Bleu, 2001) *

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

, ''Worlds'' (Label Bleu, 1990) *

Colette Magny Colette Magny (31 October 1926 – 12 June 1997) was a French singer and songwriter. A charismatic performer who did not record until her thirties, her work encompassed blues, jazz, protest songs, experimental music and spoken word recordin ...

, ''Chansons Pour Titine'' (Le Chant du Monde, 1983) * Colette Magny, ''Feu et Rythme & Un Juif a La Mer Un Palestinien Au Napalm'' (Scalen'Dis 1992) *

Patrice Meyer ''Patrice Meyer'' (b. 18 December 1957) is a French electric guitarist active in Jazz, Jazz rock, Progressive rock and Canterbury scene bands. History ''Patrice Meyer'' was born in Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. He began teaching hi ...

, ''Racines Croisees'' (Music'Al 1982) * Patrice Meyer, ''Dromadaire Viennois'' (FMR, 1986) *

, ''Demain Matin'' (Metro, 1983) *

Henri Renaud Henri Renaud (20 April 1925, in Villedieu-sur-Indre, France – 17 October 2002, in Paris) was a French jazz pianist, record producer and record company executive. His styles reflected the decades when he was musically active: he played in the sw ...

, ''Blue Cylinder'' (PSI, 1970) *

Catherine Ribeiro Catherine Ribeiro (born 22 September 1941) is a French singer. Ribeiro is an experimental folk and avant-garde performer whose work has attained a cult following. With her band Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes, she released several albums in the late ...

, ''Libertes?'' (Fontana, 1975) * Larry Schneider, ''So Easy'' (Label Bleu, 1988) *

Hal Singer Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Early life Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood District, Tul ...

, ''Soul of Africa'' (Kindred Spirits, 2008) *

, ''Locomotion'' (PSI, 1974)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Texier, Henri Cool jazz double-bassists French jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Post-bop double-bassists Hard bop double-bassists 1945 births Living people 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians Label Bleu artists