Biography Christian Escoudé

Christian Escoudé (born 1947) is a jazz guitarist from France. He grew up in Angoulême and is of Romani people descent on his father's side. His father was a guitarist too and influenced by Django Reinhardt. Christian became a musician at 15 and starting in 1972 he worked in a trio with Aldo Romano. By the 1980s he had success in a quartet with John Lewis. He also played with Philip Catherine for a time. In his forties he received a contract with the French division of Verve Records[1

(from wikipedia)

His father a Gypsy and guitarist, his mother a Charentaise, Christian Escoudé was born in 1947. His father organized the musette balls of the region. He passes a boundless passion for Django Reinhardt to his son that initiates the guitar at the age of 10. At the age of 15 Christian embraces the career of a musician.

Christian Escoudé is part of this small family of jazz guitarists from the manouche environment: as such, he has forged himself a style of guitar from the canons of bop jazz, largely tinged with Gypsy influence. He demonstrates a great sense of melody, where it comes to “Gypsy” inflections, like the vibrato and the portamento, a lot of heat in the phrasing and a great tonal fullness or fertility. He distinguishes himself by his personal using of arpeggios in the half-tone/tone system.

At Jazz In, where he appears in 1972 "after Hours", he met Eddy Louiss, Bernard Lubat, Aldo Romano.

Later he joined Didier Levallet Swing String System, Michel Portal Unit.

In 1976 the Academy of Jazz awarded him the Django Reinhardt price, while a new quartet (with Michel Graillier, Aldo Romano, and Alby Cullaz, and later with Jean-François- Jenny-Clark) was formed. At the same time he can be heard (freelance) with Michel Portal as well as with Slide Hampton, Martial Solal and Jean-Claude Fohrenbach.

In 1978 the Festival of Nice is an opportunity for him to register with the quartet of John Lewis and to play with Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz, Shelly Manne, Elvin Jones ...

Starting from 1978, he participated nearly every year in the Samois festival, organized as a tribute to Django Reinhardt.

In 1979 he is at the Festival of Dakar, supplementing the trio René Urtreger-Pierre Michelot-Daniel Humair.

Summer 1980: John McLaughlin invites him to tour as a duo which led him to the USA, Brazil and Japan.

In 1981 he joined the large orchestra Martial Solal. The following year, he appears in a quartet alongside Shelly Manne. Back in France, he forms his own one with Olivier Hutman (keyboards), Nicolas Fitzman (b, bg) and Jean My Truong (perc) - the latter two will be replaced by Jean-Marc Jafet and Tony Rabeson.

In 1983 he begins a duo with Didier Lockwood that leads in 1984 to a trio with Philip Catherine.

In 1985 he played with Carter Capon and then forms the "Gypsy Trio" with Boulou Ferré and Babik Reinhardt.

In 1987 he played a duet with Michel Graillier, John Thomas, with the "Gypsy Trio" and then again with Capon-Carter.

Beginning 1988 a new quartet is formed with Jean-Michel Pilc, François Moutin and Louis Moutin. The following year, he formed an octet with four guitars (Paul Challain Ferret, Jimmy Gourley, Frédéric Sylvestre), accordion (Marcel Azzola), cello (Vincent Courtois), bass (Alby Cullaz) and drums (Billy Hart).

New York, 1990: he plays the Village Vanguard with Pierre Michelot, Hank Jones and drummer Kenny Washington.

In 1991, surrounded by a string orchestra, he recorded eleven compositions of Django Reinhardt. In 1992, his "Gipsy Trio" (Challain Ferret, Sylvestre) is increases with Babik Reinhardt or Bireli Lagrene, and the following year, in Los Angeles, he recorded with Lou Levy, Bob Magnusson and Billy Higgins.

In 1998, he writes and records A Suite for Gypsies, a piece of Jazz rock, fusion dedicated to the memory of Gypsy children that died in concentration camps.

In 2003, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of DJANGO REINHARDT, he forms a big band (17 musicians) with whom he explores the musical legacy of Django while bringing in his own style and his harmonic and rhythmic ideas.

In 2004 it is THE NEW TRIO GITAN, reunion of 3 guitarists with the openness necessary for a musical expression of our time, without denying the roots from which they come (with David Reinhardt and Martin Taylor and Jean-Baptiste Laya) .

In March 2005 "Ma ya. Ya" appears, on Nocturne,with his new sextet (Progressive Sextet) consisting of:

Marcel Azzola, Jean-Baptiste Laya, Sylvain Guillaume, Jean-Marc Jafet, Yoann Serra.

Under the EmArcy label, Verve's Paris offices, he publishes, from 1989 to 1994, 7 albums: Gipsy Waltz / 1989 / Marcel Azzola / Live at the Village Vanguard / Plays Django Reinhardt / In LA-Standards Vol.1 / Cookin'in Hell's Kitchen

In 96 followed by "At Duc des Lombards", and in98 by : "A suite for Gypsies."

Until now, Christian Escoudé has composed or participated in the recording of over 50 albums.

(translated from www.christianescoude.com)

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