Renaud Garcia-Fons (born December 24, 1962) is a highly accomplished French upright-bass player and composer.

Career

Garcia-Fons started his musical studies at an early age. At five years old he picked up playing the piano, switched to classical guitar at eight, then turned to rock in his teens, and finally settling for the upright bass when he was 16. He got formal musical training at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, where he studied with

François Rabbath François Rabbath (born 1931 in Aleppo, Syria) is a contemporary French double-bass virtuoso, soloist, and composer. Career He was born into a Syrian family of musicians but his only instruction came from a book written by a Parisian bassist Ed ...

, who taught him his special technique of playing arco. Garcia-Fons is known for his melodic sense and his viola-like col arco sound; he is sometimes referred to as "the Paganini of double bass." Garcia-Fons has been deeply influenced by his mentor, the bassist

. He started playing jazz with the band of trumpeter

Roger Guérin Roger Guérin (9 January 1926, Saarbrücken – 6 February 2010, Nîmes) was a French jazz trumpeter and singer. Initially a violinist, Guérin studied trumpet and cornet at the Paris Conservatory and won a first prize there as a teenager. He ...

, and thereafter had many collaborators, including symphony orchestras, jazz groups, and a trio. In 1987-93, he was part of the French all-double bass ensemble 'L'Orchestre de Contrebasses'. He remained with them for six years, also appearing with the '

Orchestre National de Jazz Orchestra National de Jazz is a French jazz ensemble originally created at the initiation of Jack Lang, at that time Minister of Culture. Its first leader was François Jeanneau. Members ONJ François Jeanneau, 1986 * François Jeanneau : s ...

' directed by

Claude Barthélemy Claude Barthélemy (9 May 1945 – 6 April 2020) was a Haitian footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. He played for AS Capoise between 1961 and 1964, then joined Racing Club Haitien until 1967, and ...

during some of this time.

Enja Records Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

released his debut solo album ''Légendes'' (1992). ''Alboreá'' (1995) was his next album release, featuring his quartet including Jean-Louis Matinier (accordion), Jacques Mahieux (drums), and Yves Torchinsky (bass). Renaud Garcia-Fons, double bass by Frank Schindelbeck

Renaud Garcia-Fons, double bass by Frank Schindelbeck

His third album, 1998's ''Oriental Bass'', featured his own compositions and was well received in the press. Next he combined with accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier on the album ''Fuera'' (1999). On many occasions he is accompanied by a variety of instruments, including guitar, lute, derbouka, flutes, trombone, and accordion. Garcia-Fons has collaborated with jazz musicians like Jean-Louis Matinier,

Michael Riessler Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, Sylvain Luc,

Nguyên Lê Nguyên Lê (Vietnamese: ''Lê Thành Nguyên''; born 14 January 1959) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays bass guitar and guitar synthesizer. He has released albums ...

, and

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 ...

, and contributed to recordings of

Gerardo Núñez Gerardo Núñez Díaz (born 29 June 1961) is a Spanish guitarist and composer. His roots are in flamenco but he has played fusion and jazz. Career Núñez was born in Jerez de la Frontera ( province of Cádiz) in 1961. His first teacher was Ra ...

and to Middle Eastern players such as

Kudsi Erguner Kudsi Ergüner (born 4 February 1952 in Diyarbakır, Turkey) is a Turkish musician. He is considered a master of traditional Mevlevi Sufi music and is one of the best-known players of the Turkish ney flute. Biography As a boy, Erguner s ...

Dhafer Youssef Dhafer Youssef ( ar, ظافر يوسف; born 19 November 1967) is a Tunisian composer, singer and oud player. Biography Dhafer Youssef was born in Téboulba (a small village of coastal Tunisia); his grandfather was a muezzin. He calls the radio ...

, and

Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati ( ar, محمد خليفاتي, ), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami ( ar, شاب مامي, link=no, , born 11 July 1966), is an Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometim ...

. In his musical journey to meet world music, Renaud Garcia-Fons is interested in oriental music and more particularly that of the master of Iranian lute ''tanbur'' Ostad Elahi, including finding a source of inspiration for his compositions such as ''Hommage à Ostad ''(CD Oriental Bass) and ''Voyage à Jeyhounabad '' ''('' CD / DVD SOLO The Marcevol Concert). His interest in this music leads him in 2019 to participate, at the invitation of the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York, in a tribute concert organized as an extension of the exhibition: the sacred lute, the art of Ostad Elahi (2014-2015). In addition to his career as a soloist, Renaud Garcia-Fons has been developing composition work for several years. He writes various pieces for String Quartet at the initiative of

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz. Hist ...

for the program ''Alla Breve''. He creates for the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...

and the 'Ensemble de Basse-Normandie' ''Mundus Imaginalis''. He is part of the credits for the

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes (including debates, discussions, and documentari ...

program ''Les Racines du Ciel''. On the international scene, he regularly plays with his various groups in the biggest Jazz Festivals. In July 2009, the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

invited him for a ''White Card'' of 3 concerts. Fruit of a collaboration of several years with the lutenist Claire Antonini, he publishes in 2019 the duet album ''Farangi ', from the Baroque to the Orient.''

Honors

*2009: he is awarded the Solo Performance Award by the

International Society of Bassists The International Society of Bassists (ISB) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization for anybody who enjoys the double bass. The society was founded in 1967 by Gary Karr as the International Institute for String Bass (IISB). After a two-year hiat ...

. *2010: the Echo Deutscher MuzikPreis Jazz Prize of the best international instrumentalist (bass / guitar), for his album ''Linea Del Sur ''and the Giraldillo for musical interpretation at the Seville Biennale for his participation in the show ''Sin Muros'' by Dorantes''. '' *2011: for the second time, the Echo Deutscher MusikPreis Jazz Prize of the best international instrumentalist (bass / guitar), for his album ''Méditerranées'', designed at the request of Françoise Marchesseau and Frédéric Leibovitz for the Cézame musical illustration label. *2012: together with the director Nicolas Dattilesi, the Echo Deutscher MusikPreis prize for the best musical DVD of the year is awarded to him for the SOLO DVD ''The Marcevol Concert''. *2013: ECHO Jazz Award "DVD of the Year", for the ''Solo – The Marcevol Concert''. *2014: Prize of the best original music at the 2014 ''Luchon Festival for televisual creations'' for Marion Sarraut's film ''Premier été''. *2017: BMW Welt Jazz Award as well as the Audience Award with his trio ''La vie devant soi'' with David Venitucci and Stephan Caracci.

Discography

Solo albums

*1992: ''Légendes'' (

) *1995: ''Alboreá'' (Enja Records) *1995: ''Suite Andalouse'' (Al Sur), with Pedro Soler *1997: ''Oriental Bass'' (Enja Records) *1999: ''Fuera'' (Enja Records), with Jean-Louis Matinier *2000: ''Acoustic Songs'' (Label Hopi), with Gérard Marais *2001: ''Navigatore'' (Enja Records) *2004: ''Entremundo'' (Enja Records) *2006: ''Arcoluz'' (Enja Records) *2009: ''La Linea Del Sur'' (Enja Records) *2010: ''Méditerranées'' (Enja Records) *2012: ''Solo - The Marcevol Concert'' (Enja Records) *2013: ''Beyond The Double Bass'' (Enja Records) *2014: ''Silk Moon'' (e-motive Records), with Derya Türkan *2017: ''La Vie Devant Soi'' (E-motive Records) *2019: ''Farangi'', from Baroque to Orient, in duet with lutenist Claire Antonini, e-motive records

Collaborations

;With

*1999: ''Malak'' (

), including with

Markus Stockhausen Markus Stockhausen (born May 2, 1957) is a German trumpeter and composer. His recordings and performances have typically alternated between jazz and chamber or opera music, the latter often in collaboration with his father, composer Karlheinz Sto ...

, Jatinder Thakur ;Within Gianluigi Trovesi Nonet *2000: ''Round About A Midsummer's Dream'' (Enja Records) ;With Antonio Placer, Paulo Bellinati and Jorge Trasante *2000: ''Nomades D'Ici'' (Le Chant du Monde) ;With

*1997: ''Three Trios'' (

ACT Music ACT is a German record label founded in 1992 by Siegfried Loch. It is a division of ACT + Music Video founded by Loch and Annette Humpe in 1988. ACT started as a pop music label but folded soon after it started. Loch turned it into a jazz label, ...

) *2000: ''Bakida'' (ACT Music) *2008: ''Fragile Beauty'' (ACT Music) ;With

*2000: ''Jazzpaña II'' (ACT Music) ;With

*2001: ''Islam Blues'' (ACT Music) ;With David Peña Dorantes *2015: ''Paseo A Dos'' (E-Motive Records)

References

External links

*
Renaud Garcia-Fons: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia-Fons, Renaud 1962 births Living people 20th-century double-bassists 21st-century double-bassists French jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from Paris 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians Orchestre National de Jazz members