Jacques Coursil (March 31, 1938 – June 26, 2020) was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy.
Early life
Coursil was born in Paris, France, of
Martinican
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
parents. At age nine, he began studying the violin, but switched to trumpet as a teenager. His earliest musical influences included classical composers such as
Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
and Schoenberg, jazz, especially that of New Orleans musicians such as
Albert Nicholas
Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player.
Career
Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Late ...
and
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...
, and liturgical music, as well as Martinican-influenced
biguine
Biguine ( , ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, bigin) is a rhythm-centric style of music that originated from Saint Pierre, Martinique in the 19th century. It fuses Bèlè and 19th-century French ballroom dance steps with African rhythms.
History
...
. At the age of 14, Coursil had the opportunity to hear saxophonist
Don Byas
Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...
, who made a deep impression, "with a white suit, white shoes, a shiny saxophone, playing so sweetly."
In 1958, Coursil left for Africa, spending three years in
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80).
Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...
, politician, poet and theorist of
Négritude
''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...
. In 1961, he returned to France, working as a teacher and studying literature and mathematics.
New York
In 1965, following the assassination of
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...
, and drawn to the
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 ...
he'd heard on records, Coursil moved to New York. Upon his arrival, he took up residence in a building in lower Manhattan where his neighbors were drummer
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
, saxophonist Frank Wright, and "a blues guy from the South" who "made such a sound that the whole building would be shaking." During this time, Coursil supported himself by working as a bartender and dishwasher at the Dom, a club that would later be called the
Electric Circus
''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') was a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...
, and by playing jazz and rock music. He also studied with pianist
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
and composer Noel DaCosta. Regarding his musical interests at the time, Coursil stated: "I firmly intended to deconstruct the whole apparatus of rhythm. I wanted to 'destroy' the beat and harmony too. So, I wanted to play atonal without any rhythmic framework. I also wanted to stop playing scales, to get away from melody."
Later that year, Coursil joined Sunny Murray's band, leading to his first appearance on record as part of the January 1966 session for the drummer's eponymous album on
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.
History
Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...
. The following year, having left Murray's group, he joined Frank Wright's quintet, and participated in the recording of ''
Your Prayer
''Your Prayer'' is the second album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in May 1967 in New York City and was released by ESP-Disk later that year. On the album, Wright is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, ba ...
'', also for ESP-Disk. He also recorded his first album as a leader, an unreleased ESP-Disk project with a group that featured saxophonist
Marion Brown
Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...
and drummer
Eddie Marshall
Edwin "Eddie" Marshall (April 13, 1938 – September 7, 2011Obituary ) was an American , with original compositions that, according to Coursil, resembled those of
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 ...
. Recordings of his participation in a 1967 jam session with Laurence Cook, Warren Gale,
Perry Robinson
Perry Morris Robinson (September 17, 1938 – December 2, 2018) was an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He was the son of composer Earl Robinson.
Early life and education
Robinson was born and grew up in New York City. He attended the Le ...
, and Steve Tintweiss were released in 2021 by the Inky Dot label with the title '' Ave B Free Jam''.
Coursil also began rehearsing with
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
's band (he recalled, "the saxophone section was so great, the best since Duke Ellington"), and joined
Bill Dixon
William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...
's University of the Streets orchestra as well as the Judith Dunn/Bill Dixon Company. Influenced by Dixon, he developed his own version of
serialism
In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...
, leading to the composition of ''Black Suite''. In 1969, Coursil visited France, where he recorded two albums under his own name for
BYG Records
BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.
History
BYG Records was foun ...
's Actuel series: ''
Way Ahead
''Way Ahead'' (originally released as ''Way Head'') is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris in July 1969, and was released later that year by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On t ...
Beb Guérin Bernard "Beb" Guérin (December 22, 1941 in La Rochelle – November 14, 1980 in Paris) was a French jazz double-bassist.
Beb Guérin first began playing bass at age 23, working in the 1960s with Sonny Criss, Jacques Coursil, François Tusques, Ala ...
, and drummer Claude Delcloo, and a realization of ''
Black Suite
''Black Suite'' is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded in Paris in June 1969, and was released in 1971 by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Coursil is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, cont ...
'' with Jones, Guérin, and Delcloo plus
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...
on contrabass clarinet and
Burton Greene
Burton Greene (June 14, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium.
Biogra ...
on piano. He also played on Greene's Actuel album ''Aquariana''. Upon his return to New York, Coursil taught French and mathematics at the
United Nations International School
The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City, established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with New York's school sys ...
, where one of his students was
John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...
.
Academic career and hiatus from music
In 1975, Coursil departed for France, where he resumed his studies, leading to an Ph.D. in linguistics in 1977, and a second Ph.D. in applied science in 1992, both from the
University of Caen
The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France.
History
The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...
, where he also taught literature, linguistics, and philosophy of language. During these years, aside from occasional gigs with pianist
François Tusques
François Tusques (born January 27, 1938 in Paris, France) is a French jazz pianist. Tusques played a significant role in the emergence of a community of free jazz musicians in France.
Discography
* ''Free Jazz'', with Bernard Vitet, Beb Guér ...
, Coursil abstained from performing in public. In 1995, he accepted a teaching position at the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
in Martinique. Over the coming years, he established a reputation as an expert in the literature of
Édouard Glissant
Édouard Glissant (21 September 1928 – 3 February 2011) was a French writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic from Martinique. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary a ...
as well as
Saussurean
Ferdinand de Saussure (; ; 26 November 1857 – 22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is wide ...
linguistics, and published a book titled ''La fonction muette du langage: Essai de linguistique générale contemporaine'' (''The Silent Function of Language: Essay in General Contemporary Linguistics'') (2000). From 2002-2005, Coursil was a visiting professor of Francophone Literature and Cultures and Postcolonial Critique at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. While at Cornell, he published a number of scholarly articles on
postcolonialism
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
, Négritude, and writers
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
and
Maryse Condé
Maryse Condé (née Boucolon; February 11, 1937) is a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel ''Ségou'' (1984–85).Condé, Maryse, and Richard ...
. During his time in the United States, he also taught at the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
.
Return to music and later life
Coursil recalled that, during his time away from performing in public, he "practiced trumpet like a painter trying to find his colors." He reflected: "The music was still there... I never left the instrument. It was part of my well-being, my breathing. If I don't have a trumpet I might just have a stroke. So I kept on playing. It's like a subterranean river that suddenly reaches the surface." In 2004, at a studio in a wooded area near Cornell, and with the encouragement of John Zorn, he recorded '' Minimal Brass'', an album of multiple, overdubbed trumpet parts on which he employed
circular breathing
Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...
, a technique he learned from fellow trumpeter Jimmy Owens before leaving New York. The album was released in 2005 by Zorn's
Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...
.
''Minimal Brass'' was followed by an oratorio titled '' Clameurs'', recorded in Martinique in 2006 and released by Universal Music France the following year. The work, which employs spoken texts accompanied by trumpet and percussion, as well as choral passages, is based on writings by Martinicans such as
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961), also known as Ibrahim Frantz Fanon, was a French West Indian psychiatrist, and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have be ...
Antar
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) is an independent, national non-government, not-for-profit, community-based organisation founded in 1997 which advocates for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in A ...
. In 2008 and 2009, Coursil worked on the recording of '' Trails of Tears'', a composition which dealt with the forced relocation of Native Americans during the 1800s. On the album, which was released in 2010, he was reunited with Sunny Murray and other associates from his New York days. In 2014, he recorded '' FreeJazzArt (Sessions for Bill Dixon)'' with bassist
Alan Silva
Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player.
Biography
Silva was born a British subject to an Azorean/Portuguese mother, Irene da Silva, and a black Bermudian fat ...
, and in 2020, he finalized the recording of a work that had been in progress since 2018, titled '' Hostipitality Suite''.
In 2015, Coursil published a book titled ''Valeurs pures: le paradigme sémiotique de Ferdinand de Saussure'' (''Pure Values: The Semiotic Paradigm Of Ferdinand De Saussure''). In 2017, he was awarded the Édouard Glissant Prize for his entire body of work. He died in Belgium on June 26, 2020.
Discography
As leader or co-leader
* ''
Way Ahead
''Way Ahead'' (originally released as ''Way Head'') is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris in July 1969, and was released later that year by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On t ...
'' (BYG, 1969)
* ''
Black Suite
''Black Suite'' is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded in Paris in June 1969, and was released in 1971 by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Coursil is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, cont ...
Perry Robinson
Perry Morris Robinson (September 17, 1938 – December 2, 2018) was an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He was the son of composer Earl Robinson.
Early life and education
Robinson was born and grew up in New York City. He attended the Le ...
, and Steve Tintweiss
With
Burton Greene
Burton Greene (June 14, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium.
Biogra ...
* ''Aquariana'' (BYG, 1969)
With
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
* ''
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
'' (ESP-Disk, 1966)
With Rocé
* ''Identité en crescendo'' (Emarcy, 2008)
With Frank Wright
* ''
Your Prayer
''Your Prayer'' is the second album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in May 1967 in New York City and was released by ESP-Disk later that year. On the album, Wright is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, ba ...
'' (ESP-Disk, 1967)
* ''
The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
''The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings'' is a two-CD compilation album by saxophonist Frank Wright. Issued by ESP-Disk in 2005, it contains two studio albums released by the label during the 1960s: ''Frank Wright Trio'', recorded in 1965 and issued i ...