Doudou Gouirand
Encyclopedia
Doudou Gouirand is a French
jazz
saxophonist and composer
.
when he met the great trumpeter and composer
Don Cherry
, who gave him the opportunity to study and work with him in Sweden
and Scandinavia
and eventually throughout Europe
. This experience developed Gouirand's interest in and knowledge of Indian and African music, and World music
in general. Cherry's interest in Ornette Coleman
led Gouirand to become interested in improvised music as well.
Working with Cherry gave Gouirand the opportunity to meet J. M’Bizo Dyani, Okay Temiz
, Trilok Gurtu, Djaya-Deva, Bobo Stenson
, and Palle Danielsson
, some of whom he worked with later in his career. This musical experience and his Latin
and Mediterranean roots inspired Gouirand to meld his Mediterranean culture with contemporary jazz
.
When Gouirand returned to France
in the late 1970s, he worked for a period of time with Okay Temiz's "Oriental Wind" and Brazilian singer-songwriters Teca and Ricardo.
. In 1982, Gouirand is on Dyani's album Grand Mother's Teaching, a selection of music with jazz and South African roots.
The albums Mouvements Naturels (1982) and Chanting & Dancing (1985) were recorded with his new group World Music Company, and feature Pierre Dorge, Johnny Dyani, Sangoma Everett and Cheikh Tidiane Fall. Gouirand recorded Forgotten Tales (VDS/52° rue, 1986), an album of original material which features Don Cherry. This record was re-issued in November 2000 by Great Winds/Musea.
During the following years, Gouirand explored new directions with Space (VDS/52° rue), a trio album with Mal Waldron
on piano and Michel Marre on trumpet, then La Nuit de Wounded Knee
(Blue Line, 1990) with Bobo Stenson
, Aldo Romano
and Palle Danielsson
—dedicated to native Americans
, and Le Matin d'un Fauve (AA/WMD, 1994) again with Mal Waldron and Michel Marre.
With the very successful Nino Rota/Fellini album (Deux Z/Harmonia Mundi, 1995), acclaimed arrangement and composition work done around Nino Rota
's film music, he explored a more European and typically Mediterranean idiom, while keeping a lot of improvisation. Between 1996 and 1998, he toured in France
and Switzerland
with "Third Dimension", a trio with Mal Waldron and vocalist Jeanne Lee
. The group did not release any recordings. His album Passages (June 1999, distributed by Harmonia Mundi) features Rita Marcotulli, JJ Avenel, J. Allouche, plus Elise Caron (vocals) and Kevin Davy
(trumpet).
Gouirand has presented a number of special projects, one based on the compositions of Nino Rota, a project built around Lapland music with singer Inga Yuuso, and various works with African musicians.
with original music and texts from Jean Giono
, was produced in 2000-2002.
Associated Improvisers Garrigues
-Sahel
, a stage project including traditional African musicians and French jazz improvisers in September 1999, led to the 2000 record project Les Racines du Ciel (BMG, May 2002), with the subsequent stage group "Indigo Song".
In 2006 he issued a record with the group "Aumja", an attempt to mix creative aspects from Indian and Mediterranean music which included a set of new personal compositions. The group was co-led with sitar
player Brigitte Menon.
In 2007, he published Boleros, a project that was prepared a year in advance and recorded on his second trip to Santiago de Cuba
, where he blends his saxophone with the traditional and modern Bolero
and Nueva Trova
.
Gouirand has performed extensively in concert and at festivals in France and worldwide with Don Cherry, Mal Waldron, Jeanne Lee, J. M’Bizo Dyani, Pierre Dorge, Palle Danielsson
, Bobo Stenson
, Aldo Romano
, and also with Paul Bley
, Jim Pepper
, Dino Saluzzi
, and Lester Bowie
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Early career
Gouirand was living in SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
when he met the great trumpeter and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, who gave him the opportunity to study and work with him in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and eventually throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. This experience developed Gouirand's interest in and knowledge of Indian and African music, and World music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
in general. Cherry's interest in Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
led Gouirand to become interested in improvised music as well.
Working with Cherry gave Gouirand the opportunity to meet J. M’Bizo Dyani, Okay Temiz
Okay Temiz
Okay Temiz is a leading Turkish fusion jazz percussionist and drummer.-Discography:* Maffy Falay & Sevda: ditto. * Maffy Falay & Sevda: Live at Jazzhus Montmartre....
, Trilok Gurtu, Djaya-Deva, Bobo Stenson
Bobo Stenson
Bo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
, and Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden, perhaps most notable for his work done with Keith Jarrett from 1974 to 1979, becoming a member of his European quartet for that period.-Career:...
, some of whom he worked with later in his career. This musical experience and his Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Mediterranean roots inspired Gouirand to meld his Mediterranean culture with contemporary jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
When Gouirand returned to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the late 1970s, he worked for a period of time with Okay Temiz's "Oriental Wind" and Brazilian singer-songwriters Teca and Ricardo.
Recording and composing
Gouirand then began to compose and record regularly, first for JAM. His first album, Islands (1981), featured Chris Mc Gregor on pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. In 1982, Gouirand is on Dyani's album Grand Mother's Teaching, a selection of music with jazz and South African roots.
The albums Mouvements Naturels (1982) and Chanting & Dancing (1985) were recorded with his new group World Music Company, and feature Pierre Dorge, Johnny Dyani, Sangoma Everett and Cheikh Tidiane Fall. Gouirand recorded Forgotten Tales (VDS/52° rue, 1986), an album of original material which features Don Cherry. This record was re-issued in November 2000 by Great Winds/Musea.
During the following years, Gouirand explored new directions with Space (VDS/52° rue), a trio album with Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
on piano and Michel Marre on trumpet, then La Nuit de Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...
(Blue Line, 1990) with Bobo Stenson
Bobo Stenson
Bo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
, Aldo Romano
Aldo Romano
Aldo Romano is a jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971.-Biography:He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don Cherry in 1963. He recorded with Steve Lacy and...
and Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden, perhaps most notable for his work done with Keith Jarrett from 1974 to 1979, becoming a member of his European quartet for that period.-Career:...
—dedicated to native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, and Le Matin d'un Fauve (AA/WMD, 1994) again with Mal Waldron and Michel Marre.
With the very successful Nino Rota/Fellini album (Deux Z/Harmonia Mundi, 1995), acclaimed arrangement and composition work done around Nino Rota
Nino Rota
Nino Rota was an Italian composer and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti...
's film music, he explored a more European and typically Mediterranean idiom, while keeping a lot of improvisation. Between 1996 and 1998, he toured in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
with "Third Dimension", a trio with Mal Waldron and vocalist Jeanne Lee
Jeanne Lee
Jeanne Lee was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers which included Gunter Hampel, Ran Blake, Carla Bley, Anthony Braxton, Marion Brown, and many...
. The group did not release any recordings. His album Passages (June 1999, distributed by Harmonia Mundi) features Rita Marcotulli, JJ Avenel, J. Allouche, plus Elise Caron (vocals) and Kevin Davy
Kevin Davy
Kevin Davy is a British jazz trumpeter, based in London.Born in Nottingham, UK where he lived until 1986, whereupon gaining a place to study at Manchester Polytechnic, decided to move to the city...
(trumpet).
Gouirand has presented a number of special projects, one based on the compositions of Nino Rota, a project built around Lapland music with singer Inga Yuuso, and various works with African musicians.
Recent activities
Les Saisons du Paradis, an ode to ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
with original music and texts from Jean Giono
Jean Giono
Jean Giono was a French author who wrote works of fiction set in the Provence region of France.-First period:...
, was produced in 2000-2002.
Associated Improvisers Garrigues
Garrigues
Les Garrigues is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Les Borges Blanques. Its symbol is an olive branch, Les Garrigues being the center of olive cultivation in all of Catalonia...
-Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
, a stage project including traditional African musicians and French jazz improvisers in September 1999, led to the 2000 record project Les Racines du Ciel (BMG, May 2002), with the subsequent stage group "Indigo Song".
In 2006 he issued a record with the group "Aumja", an attempt to mix creative aspects from Indian and Mediterranean music which included a set of new personal compositions. The group was co-led with sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
player Brigitte Menon.
In 2007, he published Boleros, a project that was prepared a year in advance and recorded on his second trip to Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, where he blends his saxophone with the traditional and modern Bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
and Nueva Trova
Nueva trova
Nueva trova is a movement in Cuban music that emerged around 1967/68 after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and the consequent political and social changes....
.
Gouirand has performed extensively in concert and at festivals in France and worldwide with Don Cherry, Mal Waldron, Jeanne Lee, J. M’Bizo Dyani, Pierre Dorge, Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden, perhaps most notable for his work done with Keith Jarrett from 1974 to 1979, becoming a member of his European quartet for that period.-Career:...
, Bobo Stenson
Bobo Stenson
Bo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
, Aldo Romano
Aldo Romano
Aldo Romano is a jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971.-Biography:He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don Cherry in 1963. He recorded with Steve Lacy and...
, and also with Paul Bley
Paul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
, Jim Pepper
Jim Pepper
Jim Pepper was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and singer of Native American ancestry.-Biography:...
, Dino Saluzzi
Dino Saluzzi
Timoteo "Dino" Saluzzi is an Argentine musician.The son of popular carpero composer and instrumentalist Cayetano Saluzzi, Dino played the bandoneón since his childhood...
, and Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
.
Selected discography
- Islands (1981), with Chris Mc Gregor, Michel Benita, J.C. Montredon and Lelle Kullgren
- Mouvements naturels (1982), with Johny Dyani, M. Benita, JC Montredon, Merzak Mouthana, Pierre Dorge
- Chanting & Dancing (1985), live with J. Dyani, Pierre Dorge, Sangoma Everett, Cheikh Tidiane Fall
- Space (1985) with Mal WaldronMal WaldronMalcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
and Michel Marre (VDS/52e rue Est), CD VDS/Media 7 (1987) - La nuit de Wounded Knee (1990), with Bobo StensonBobo StensonBo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
, Palle DanielssonPalle DanielssonPalle Danielsson is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden, perhaps most notable for his work done with Keith Jarrett from 1974 to 1979, becoming a member of his European quartet for that period.-Career:...
, Aldo RomanoAldo RomanoAldo Romano is a jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971.-Biography:He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don Cherry in 1963. He recorded with Steve Lacy and...
(Blue Line) - Nino Rota/Fellini (1995, Deux Z), in collaboration with Gérard Pansanel
- Le Matin d’un Fauve (1995, AA records), with Mal Waldron and Michel Marre
- Passages (1999, Deux Z), with Rita Marcotulli, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Joël Allouche, Kevin DavyKevin DavyKevin Davy is a British jazz trumpeter, based in London.Born in Nottingham, UK where he lived until 1986, whereupon gaining a place to study at Manchester Polytechnic, decided to move to the city...
and Elise Caron - Indigo Song - Les Racines du Ciel (2002, RDC/Plume/BMG), with Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Baptiste Trotignon, G. Pansanel, Hadja Kouyate, Yakhouba Sissoko, Ali Boulo Santo, Moriba Koita, A. Wague, S. Everett, J.J. Avenel, Kevin DavyKevin DavyKevin Davy is a British jazz trumpeter, based in London.Born in Nottingham, UK where he lived until 1986, whereupon gaining a place to study at Manchester Polytechnic, decided to move to the city...
, Pinise Saul, Pibo Marques, Marcia Escoffery, Samir Toukour - Mythologies (2006), with Brigitte Menon and Aumja (DOM Disques)
- Boleros (2007), recorded in Santiago de CubaSantiago de CubaSantiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
.