Christian Escoudé

Christian Escoudé (2002)

Christian Escoudé (born September 23, 1947 in Angoulême ) is a French jazz guitarist.

Escoudé was introduced to the tradition of gypsy music by his father and uncle Gusti Malha , to whom he later dedicated the album Gousti . In addition to Django Reinhardt , his musical role models were Charlie Parker , Erroll Garner and Coleman Hawkins , whom he heard on the radio. As an adolescent he played in an American band in the US soldiers' clubs near Angoulême , where he got to know the classics of American light music and jazz standards .

From 1968 to 1971 he was a member of the Aimé Barelli orchestra in Monte Carlo . He then went to Paris , where he came into contact with jazz music and worked with musicians such as Eddy Louiss , Bernard Lubat , Steve Potts , Gus Nemeth , Christian Lété , Didier Levallet , Michel Portal , Martial Solal and Slide Hampton . He performed in a quartet with Michel Graillier , Aldo Romano and Alby Cullaz (later Jean-François Jenny-Clark ) and with the cellist Jean-Charles Capon .

As a result he appeared at several jazz festivals: for example at the Nice Festival in 1978 , where he a. a. played with Stan Getz , Bill Evans , Philly Joe Jones , Freddie Hubbard , Lee Konitz , Shelly Manne and Elvin Jones and in 1979 in Dakar with René Urtreger , Pierre Michelot and Daniel Humair .

In 1980 he went on a world tour with John McLaughlin . In 1981 he joined Martial Solal's orchestra and founded his first own quartet with Olivier Hutman , Nicolas Fiszman and Jean-My Truong (in which Fiszman and Truong were later replaced by Jean-Marc Jaffé and Tony Rabeson ). In 1983 he founded a duo with Didier Lockwood and in 1985 his first trio Gitan with Boulou Ferré and Babik Reinhardt , the son of Django Reinhardt, who was later replaced by David Reinhardt . In 1988 he played in a quartet with Jean-Michel Pilc and the brothers François and Louis Moutin and in an octet with Paul Challain Ferret , Jimmy Gourley , Frédéric Sylvestre , Marcel Azzola , Vincent Courtois , Alby Cullaz and Billy Hart .

In 1990 he performed in New York City with Pierre Michelot , Hank Jones and Kenny Washington . In 1992 he founded his second trio Gitan with Paul Challain Ferret and Frédéric Sylvestre , with whom he recorded the album Holidays . In 1998 the album A Suite for Gypsie was released , the music of which is a fusion of jazz and rock. In 2003 Escoude founded a seventeen-piece big band, and in 2004 the Nouveau Trio Gitan . In 2005 he played the album Ma ya with Marcel Azzola . Ya a.

In 1976 he was awarded the Prix ​​Django Reinhardt .