Description
A jazz saxophonist, clarinettist and composer, Louis Sclavis has received numerous awards, including the Django Reinhardt Prize, the Grand Prix National de la Musique and the SACEM Grand Prix. In the early 1970s, he performed with theatre and dance companies associated with the Living Theatre and Bread and Puppet movements, and was musically inspired by groups such as Soft Machine, Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His professional career began in 1975, notably with the Workshop de Lyon, where he worked alongside Colette Magny. In 1977, he helped found the ARFI (Association à la Recherche d’un Folklore Imaginaire), and played and recorded with the Marvelous Band, the Marmite Infernale, and others. In the early 1980s, Louis Sclavis played in Henri Texier’s quartet, the Compagnie Lubat, Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, alongside Michel Portal and European musicians such as Tony Oxley, Evan Parker, Peter Brotzman, Enrico Rava, Thomas Stańko, and others. In 1984, he began forming his own groups (trio, quartet, sextet), with whom he recorded for various labels such as Label Bleu, Enja, FMP and, above all, ECM. At the same time, he composed for film (Amos Gitaï, Bertrand Tavernier), theatre and dance, and worked with Jacques Bonnafé, Mathilde Monnier, Ernest Pignon Ernest, Guy Le Querrec, etc. Louis Sclavis is a truly great musician whose international career has established him as a leading figure in contemporary jazz.