Bernard Struber

Félix Bernard Struber (* 1950 in Strasbourg ) is a French jazz musician ( guitar , also piano, composition and arrangement ) and organist .

Live and act

Struber, the son of a tram driver, began taking piano lessons at the age of nine. At the age of 13 he came into contact with jazz; he began as a pianist in a New Orleans Jazz band . At the same time he played rock 'n' roll on the guitar and the organ at church services. At the age of 16 he began studying the organ at the Regional Conservatory in Strasbourg, at the end of which he was awarded the Conservatory's First Prize and then a regional music prize from a jury made up of Marie-Claire Alain , Xavier Darasse , Jean Langlais and Jean-Sébastien Béreau . As a guitarist he came into contact with bebop through Michel Hausser ; soon he played with musicians such as Joe Morello , Benny Bailey , Sonny Gray and Alain Jean-Marie .

Struber initially worked as an arranger in the Paris recording studios, where he was involved in around 40 records. In 1979 he returned to the conservatory in his native city as a university teacher, where he founded the jazz class at the CNR in Strasbourg. He then wrote a textbook Musique en jeu (x) , which was published in 2004 by Éditions Lemoine .

In 1987, 15 musicians joined forces in Strasburg to form the Orchester Régional de Jazz d'Alsace , which recorded two albums under Struber's direction; In 1997 he founded his ten-member Bernard Struber Jazztett , which made use of this tribe of musicians. His ensemble quickly made a name for itself with a repertoire that draws on different musical traditions and is interpreted in a highly idiosyncratic and free manner. The orchestra included u. a. Jean-Marc Foltz (clarinet), Benjamin Moussay and Stéphan Oliva (piano), Bruno Chevillon (bass) and François Merville (drums). For the label enja the Jazztett recorded the album Le Phare (1998) together with Louis Sclavis . For the album Les aromes de la mémoire , Jean-Luc Cappozzo also came as a guest. An album with the music of Frank Zappa was last released in 2007 .

2004 was Struber a Django d'Or in the "composition" and the Grand Prix of the SACEM .

Web links

• Bernard Struber Jazztett (concert announcement)
• Portrait (Alsace-Culture)
• Bernard Struber at Discogs (English)