Frédéric Gassita is a

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

ese

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

best known for his musical work combining

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

. He was the third African student admitted to

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

and the first Gabonese. Gassita is a founding member and president of the African Music Institute in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

Early life and education

Gassita attended the Conservatoire de Châteauroux in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the early 1980s, where he received classical training. Upon returning to Gabon in 1984, he formed a band and started playing at a club in Libreville. An audience member he met during a performance told him about Berklee College of Music. In 1987, two years into medicine school, he moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and joined Berklee in the fall of 1988. Gassita studied

music production A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduct ...

and jazz performance. During his time at Berklee, Gassita developed an interest in orchestration. He attended the rehearsals of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra and studied literature on orchestration.

Career

Orchestral work

Gassita has recorded six orchestral music albums. The double album “Frédéric Gassita With The

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

” includes pieces from his opuses released between 2004 and 2008, which were rearranged for the new release. “Symphonic Visions From Gabon”, featuring the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, also a double album, incorporates African music influences. Production of the albums began in Gassita's studio in Libreville, alongside French conductor Paul Rouger and

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain-Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959) also known as Ali Ben Bongo is a Gabonese former politician and dictator who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 until he was deposed in a 2023 Gabonese coup d'état, coup in 2 ...

, President of Gabon and also a composer. Gassita met Ondimba during a party where they played

piano four hands Piano four hands (, , ) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is generally referred to as a ''piano duet, piano duo''.Bellingham, Jane"piano du ...

. The albums were recorded at Air Studios' Lyndhurst Hall in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The sessions were engineered by Pascal Bomy. Guest artists included Bireli Lagrène,

André Ceccarelli André "Dédé" Ceccarelli (born 5 January 1946) is a French jazz drummer. Biography After learning to play the drums from his father, Ceccarelli started out playing in the salons of the Hotel Royal Nice Promenade des Anglais at the age of fi ...

, Baptiste Herbin and Sylvain Luc. In 2020, Gassita the double album "New Symphonic Visions from Gabon with the London Symphony Orchestra Bantu Jazz Vol. 1 & 2".

African Music Institute

According to Berklee College of Music, their relationship with Gabon began with Gassita, whose goal was to provide similar music education in Africa. In October 2015,

Roger H. Brown Roger H. Brown (born 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and academic administrator and former president of Berklee College of Music. Brown is also the co-founder of Bright Horizons and founder and chairman of the Salt Lick Incuba ...

, president of Berklee College of Music and Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, signed a memorandum of understanding to create a pan-African music school in Libreville. Gassita was among the signees and is currently the president of the African Music Institute Foundation.

Television

Gassita directed the television series "The Mytho", which was produced by his company, Afro Jazz Productions. The series consists of 20 episodes and aired during the second half of 2015.

Sports

Gassita founded and is the president of the first division football team FC Sapins, later renamed to Akanda FC. Gassita also played as a striker for the team and was the Gabonese league's top scorer. Akanda FC is considered the strongest football club in Gabon. The team also has the highest budget.

Discography

* ''Forever Yours'' (2004) * ''Following My Star'' (2008) * ''Frédéric Gassita with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vol. 1'' (2013) * ''Frédéric Gassita with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vol. 2'' (2013) * ''Symphonic Visions from Gabon'' (2013) * ''Symphonic Visions from Gabon with the London Symphony Orchestra'' (2013) * ''My Experience'' (2015) * ''New Symphonic Visions from Gabon with the London Symphony Orchestra Bantu Jazz Vol. 1 & 2'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gassita, Frédéric Living people Gabonese composers African jazz (genre) pianists Jazz pianists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Gabonese musicians