Christian Escoudé
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Biography
Born into a gypsy family on his father's side, guitarist Christian Escoudé was best known for his representation of gypsy jazz, among other varied styles. Born in Angoulême, Charente, France on September 23, 1947, he began learning the guitar at the age of 10. Influenced by Django Reinhardt, h became a professional musician five years later. He first worked in trumpeter Aimé Barelli's orchestra, before accompanying Eddy Louiss, Bernard Lubat and Aldo Romano. He joined before Steve Potts' Recent History (1973) and Didier Levallet's Swing String System, with whom he performed until 1987. After forming a duo with double bassist Jean-Charles Capon and winning the Prix Django Reinhardt from the Académie du Jazz in 1976, Christian Escoudé formed a quartet with pianist Michel Graillier, Aldo Romano, and Alby Cullaz, who was later replaced by Jean-François Jenny-Clark. Christian Escoudé accompanied Slide Hampton and Michel Portal, recorded duets with John Lewis and Charlie Haden and formed a new trio for the album Return (1979), followed by Gipsy's Morning (1981), which was recorded as a quintet. He became a regular guest at the Samois-sur-Seine festival in tribute to Django Reinhardt and joined Philippe Catherine and Didier Lockwood for the album Trio (1983). Christian Escoudé also recorded numerous sessions and concerts with Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Toots Thielemans, John McLaughlin, Shelly Manne, and Louis Chedid. Among the other groups he created for the duration of an album was the Trio Gitan, with Babik Reinhardt and Boulou Ferré on Three of a Kind (1985). A succession of albums followed, including Christian Escoudé with Strings Plays Django Reinhardt (1991), Holidays (1993), In L.A. (1993), Cookin' in Hell's Kitchen (1995) and A Suite for Gypsies (1998), followed by Ma Ya Ya with the Progressive Sextet (2005) and Catalogne (2010). He also paid homage to Paris, Ma Muse (2001), George Brassens on Au Bois de Mon CÅur (2011) and John Lewis on Saint-Germain-des-Prés (2013). Django, les Inédits followed in 2019, then Ancrage with Unit Five (2024). Christian Escoudé died on May 13, 2024, at the age of 76.
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