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Alexandre Destrez

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{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Alexandre Destrez

| image = Alexandre Destrez portrait.jpg

| caption =

| image_size =

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1969|05|29}}

| birth_place = France

| instrument = Piano

| genre = Electro Jazz, Acid Jazz, Nu-Jazz, Electronic music

| occupation = Pianist
Composer
Arranger

| years_active = since 1995

| label =

| associated_acts =

| website = [https://www.alexandredestrez.com/ Alexandre Destrez.com]

}}

Alexandre Destrez (born 29 May 1969) is a French pianist, keyboardist, composer[http://www.sacem.fr/oeuvres/oeuvre/rechercheOeuvre.do?x=0&y=0&titre=&tiers=ALEXANDRE+DESTREZ&searchoption=default&tri=p Compositions deposited at the SACEM] and musical arranger. He is particularly well known for his musical collaboration on the Tourist and Boulevard albums of St. Germain.

Biography

Son of the French actor and director Thierry Destrez, Alexandre grew up in the western suburbs of Paris. He became interested in music at the age of nine, teaching himself to play on his mother's old piano and continuing to be self-taught for several years. Following a "self-directed" scolarity,{{Definition needed |date=January 2025}} Destrez decided to concentrate entirely on his music to the exclusion of everything else. He left home and for several years earned his living by doing casual jobs while still focusing on the piano.

At the age of 20, he began studying at the American School of Modern Music to deepen his knowledge of harmony, composition and arrangement. But it was his meeting with Philippe Bestion which was to have a profound impact on Destrez, enabling him to perfect his sense of improvisation and also discover such artists as Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock.

At 23, Destrez embarked on his first concert tour alongside a French song artist. One year later, he was spotted by Ludovic Navarre, (alias St. Germain) with whom he recorded the much acclaimed "Deep in it" which figures on the album Boulevard (F Communications). In 1996, he made a European concert tour with St. Germain and continued to collaborate with him over several years. His phrasing and sense of melody have become key values, particularly on the album Tourist (Blue Note Records), which sold over three million copies worldwide. It was also rated best selling jazz album on its release in the US and awarded 3 "Victoires de la Musique" in France.

Since then, Destrez has collaborated with numerous artists and has participated in diverse musical projects as composer, co-composer and/or instrumentalist (Shazz, Overhead, Oscar, Anthony Fletcher, Martin Solveig, Dimitri from Paris, DJ Yass...)

Since 2012, Destrez is working on his new electro jazz project Rive Gauche[http://rivegauchemusic.com/ Rive Gauche Website] from which the first EP Walking... was released in 2016 on BBE records label.[https://www.bbemusic.com/artist/rive-gauche/ Rive Gauche on BBE Records]

Since the end of 2012, he has been performing throughout France accompanied by his musicians.

Musical collaborations

= Main collaborations =

In 1995, Destrez recorded "Deep In It" and "Street Scene" (4 SHAZZ) on St. Germain's album Boulevard. This was followed by several years of collaboration with Ludovic Navarre, starting from the 1996 concert tour in France and Europe up to the recording of the Tourist album (Blue Note records) in 2001.

Simultaneously, using the pseudonym Alejandro Del Abelgam,[http://www.discogs.com/artist/422846-Alejandro-Del-Abelgam Alejandro Del Abelgam Discogs page] on Discogs[http://www.discogs.com/artist/63086-Alexandre-Destrez Alexandre Destrez Discogs page] on Discogs he became the accomplice of another phenomenon of the French House scene: Shazz. He participated in the first eponymous album Shazz nominated in the French award ceremony "Victoires de la musique" then at the EP "El Camino Project" (Yellow Prod) and appeared for the first time as artist on the maxi vinyl Shazz & Alexandre Destrez, Hermosa Maria (Epic Records). They went on to jointly produce two titles for Aco, a young singer well known in Japan. In 2001, the second album from Shazz, In the light (Epic Records) came out, on which Destrez composed, arranged, interpreted and collaborated with Shazz and directed the musicians during recording sessions. In 2004, on a third album entitled Beautiful, (Ulm/Universal), Destrez can be heard performing in an even more developed jazz style on a track of the same name.

In 2000, Destrez met the group Overhead and became its keyboard player, signing up as artist with Naïve Records. The group's first album Silent Witness was acclaimed unanimously by the press. (Les Inrockuptibles, Libération, "ffff" Télérama). Two important events for the group were the concert at "La Cigale" and a concert on one of Bernard Lenoir's 'Black Sessions' programmes dedicated to Overhead and broadcast live on France Inter.

In 2002, David Hachour and Florent Sabaton (alias Oscar), in need of a pianist for their first concert at the Rex Club, contacted Destrez. He went on to join the group and collaborated on several Maxi vinyls and two albums from Oscar: Parisian Soul (2003) and Portrait Robot (2004) with Denote Records. In 2004, Alex composed and interpreted Echoes and Echoes Extended Version (piano solo) for Oscar and Blanck Project respectively. He featured alongside Oscar on the track "Mon plus beau matin" (additional track on the Japanese version of the album Portrait Robot).

He also signed up with Shazz for his first remix "Latin Break revisited by Alexandre Destrez" (2005 Universal Music ULM). In 2005, Destrez composed and collaborated with David H. on the music of Alabama 65, a project inspired by a cappella recordings made in 1948 of Afro-Americans incarcerated in Alabama. In 2007, the maxi vinyl of Oscar was released featuring Destrez on Silent Day (Denote Records).

Destrez also appeared alongside Anthony Fletcher with the release in 2009 of the album Anthony Fletcher Paris. This was followed by a concert tour in France and a live performance on Stéphane Bern's programme Le Fou du Roi on France Inter. Another album "I Guess" was released in 2011.

Since 2005, Destrez has collaborated with the DJ producer Yass and has released over twenty maxi vinyl albums and remixes including:

  • Inner Soul "Support your Dj" (Deeply Rooted House - 2005)
  • Ziggy Funk ft Taliwa "Everyday" (Yass classic mix - Foliage - 2011)
  • Rocco Feat Akram "Working Hard" (Yass remix-House Afrika - 2012)
  • Yass & Rony Breaker feat. Nickson Phala "African Woman" (Foliage - 2013)
  • Djeff Afrozila & Hallex M feat. Mr V "Let’s Get It" (Sole Channel - 2013)

Destrez has regularly accompanied Yass on keyboard during his concerts in Paris (2007), Pragues (2011), Budapest (2012), Tbilissi (2012), Tbilissi (2013), Varsovie (2013), Tbilissi (2013) Thonon-les-Bains (2013), Batumi (2013) and Marrakech (2014).

= Collaborations as an instrumentalist =

== Studio pianist and keyboardist ==

== Stage pianist and keyboardist ==

Nelly Mella: (Procédé Guimard Delaunay - PGD)

  • Preview of the concert tour L’Estival (La Clef - St Germain en Laye - 2005)
  • Public recording of the album "Les Signes" at Jean Vilar Theatre (Marly-le-Roi - 2005)
  • Concert at the Théâtre du Rond-Point[https://www.theatredurondpoint.fr/spectacle/les-signes/ Théâtre du Rond-Point Programmation 2006] (Paris - 2006)

David Grumel

  • Festival Musilac (Aix les Bains – 2006)
  • Le Brise Glace (Annecy - 2007)

Tania de Montaigne: at L’Européen and at the Réservoir (Paris – 2007) - with guests: Jo Wedin and Bibi Tanga singing, Martin Bauer on the viola da gamba

E.T. on the Beach:

= Original film soundtracks =

Selected discography and concerts (by artist)

= With [[St. Germain (musician)|St. Germain]] =

= With [[Shazz]] =

= With [[Dimitri from Paris]] =

  • 1998: Remix of MOA "Joy Pain" (Tommy Boy)
  • 2001: Featuring on the album of Bran Van 3000 "Discosis"

= With [[:fr:Overhead (groupe)|Overhead]] =

= With Oscar =

  • 2002: Concert at the "Rex Club" in Paris
  • 2003: Album "Parisian Soul" (Denote Records) and concerts in France and Belgium
  • 2004: Album "Portrait Robot" (Denote Records) and concerts at the "FrancoPhonic Festival" in Berlin and the "FrancoFolies de La Rochelle"

= With [[Martin Solveig]] =

= With Anthony Fletcher =

  • 2009: Eponymous album "Anthony Fletcher Paris"
  • French tour and live concert during the Stéphane Bern programme "Le Fou du Roi" broadcast on "France Inter"
  • 2011: Album "I Guess"

= With DJ Yass =

Over twenty singles and remix albums made since 2005 as pianist, composer or producer, including:

  • 2011: Remix "Everyday" (Foliage)
  • 2012: Remix "Working Hard" (House Afrika)
  • 2013: "Bring it Up" (Kingstreet) / "Who You Are" (Purple Music) / "African Woman" (Foliage) / "Z-Tribute" (Street King) / Remix "Let’s Get It" (Sole Channel)
  • 2014: Concert with Dj Yass et Jay Sebag (singer on songs of Martin Solveig) au SO Night Lounge Marrakech
  • Since 2001: Concerts in Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Tbilissi, Batumi (Georgia 2014–2015), Termoli (Italia 2015) Varna (Bulgaria 2014–2015), Sofia (Bulgaria 2015)

= With David H =

  • 2005: Creation of the "Alabama 65" project[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfF8PuqlbPKOWq9ybSYhjFQ Alabama 65 music][http://www.musiculture2.fr/alabama-65/ Web article about ALABAMA 65] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515150330/http://www.musiculture2.fr/alabama-65/ |date=2014-05-15 }} on [http://www.musiculture2.fr/ Musiculture]
  • 2012: Creation of "RIVE GAUCHE"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t7LOhd0cl8 RIVE GAUCHE Teaser] electro jazz project
  • 2012: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Electro Jazz Festival"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7k7ooO2nvg Rive Gauche at the Megève Electro Jazz Festival] in Megève (Haute-Savoie, France)
  • 2013: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Silvain Theatre in Marseille[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xmZE17A64&feature=em-share_video_user Rive Gauche at the Théatre Silvain of Marseille 2013] (Festival Borderline - May 2013)
  • 2014: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at Magazine Club of Lille (France)
  • 2015: Concerts with RIVE GAUCHE at the Jazz Festival Eclats d'Email of Limoges[http://s370308257.onlinehome.fr/FEE/rive-gauche/ Eclats d'Email Jazz Festival Programmation 2015] (France)
  • 2016: Release of the first EP with RIVE GAUCHE Walking... on BBE records label

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.alexandredestrez.com/ Official website Alexandre Destrez]
  • [http://rivegauchemusic.com/ Rive Gauche Website]
  • [https://soundcloud.com/rivegauchemusic Soundcloud Rive Gauche]
  • [https://soundcloud.com/alexdestrez Soundcloud Alexandre Destrez]
  • [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfF8PuqlbPKOWq9ybSYhjFQ Alabama 65 Music]

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Category:French electronic musicians

Category:French house musicians

Category:20th-century French male pianists

Category:21st-century French male pianists

Category:1969 births

Category:Living people

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)