Céline Bonacina (born 23 July 1975 in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

, France) is a French saxophonist and composer. She plays soprano, alto and baritone saxophone.

Biography

Bonacina started learning music at the age of eight. She got classical saxophone lessons at various conservatories in

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Between 1996 and 1998, Bonacina played baritone saxophone in various jazz big bands in Paris. She then moved to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

, for seven years to teach saxophone at the ''Conservatoire National de Région'' During this time, she participated at numerous festivals in the Indien Oceans region. She was musically influenced of the inclusion of the living rhythms there, and this is reflected in her later compositions. Returning to Paris, her debut album ''Vue d'en Haut'' was released in 2005. Bonacina has collaborated with musicians such as the French pianist Laurent de Wilde, Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, saxophonist Andy Sheppard and guitarists Yannick Robert and

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 ...

. In addition, and she temporarily supplemented the ''Funk Unit'' of the Swedish trombonist Nils Landgren. Her album ''Way of Life'', which is based almost exclusively on her own compositions, was recorded with a trio comprising the French Nicolas Garnier (bass guitar) and the Malagasy Hary Ratsimbazafy (drums and percussion) and the guitarist Nguyên Lê as a guest musician. In November 2010 she took part with her trio at the JazzFest Berlin. The music of this trio has been largely played all over Europe with special guest Romain Labaye on bass. In 2013, after the release of ''Open Heart'', she created a sextet to play the music of this album, involving Leila Martial on vocals, Illya Amar on vibes & electronics, Romain Labaye on bass and vocals, Nicolas Leroy on percussion and Hary Ratsimbazafy on drums. The sextet performed in the two major jazz festivals in France: Jazz à Vienne and Jazz in Marciac, but also Paris Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival as well as many venues in France and Europe. Bonacina has won a number of saxophonist prizes in classical and jazz, such as the ''Defense Concours national jazz festival ''and the ''Festival Jazz - La Ciotat''.

Discography (in selection)

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: ''Vue d’en Haut'' (Self Release) *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: ''Way of Life'' ( ACT), with Céline Bonacina Trio, feat

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: ''The ACT Jubilee Concert'' (ACT), with Nils Landgren,

Michael Wollny Michael Wollny (born 25 May 1978) is a German jazz pianist and a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig. He has played with international musicians including Joachim Kühn, Tamar Halperin, Marius Neset, Andreas Schaerer, Émil ...

Leszek Możdżer Leszek Możdżer (Polish pronunciation: born Lesław Henryk Możdżer, 23 March 1971, Gdańsk) is a Polish jazz pianist, music producer and film score composer. Life and career Możdżer was born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk. He began to play t ...

, Nguyên Lê,

Lars Danielsson Lars Danielsson (born 5 September 1958) is a Swedish jazz bassist, composer, and record producer. Biography Danielsson was born in Smålandsstenar, and was educated at the music conservatory in Gothenburg. He plays double bass, electric bass ...

, Wolfgang Haffner,

Cæcilie Norby Cæcilie Norby (born 9 September 1964) is a Danish jazz and rock singer. She has performed as part of the bands ''Street Beat'', ''Frontline'', and ''One-Two''. Since the mid-1990s, she has worked as a solo artist. Career Norby was a foundin ...

, and Verneri Pohjola *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

: ''Open Heart'' (ACT), with Céline Bonacina Trio & guests *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: ''Crystal Rain'' (Cristal Records), with Céline Bonacina Crystal Quartet *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: ''Jump!'' (Cristal Records), with Rachel Eckroth, Chris Jennings and John Hadfield

References

External links

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Céline Bonacina
bei MySpace
Céline Bonacina
bei jazz thing *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonacina, Celine 1975 births French jazz saxophonists French women saxophonists French women jazz saxophonists French women composers French jazz composers French women jazz musicians Living people 21st-century French saxophonists 21st-century French women musicians ACT Music artists