Jean-Louis Chautemps

Jazz saxophonist Jean-Louis Chautemps was born in Paris, France on August 6, 1931. He was a central figure in the history of French jazz with a career that spanned several eras and styles, from be-bop to contemporary jazz. He was originally studying law and medicine when he discovered the saxophone in 1949 and began practicing intensively on the instrument. Hired by Claude Bolling in 1952, Jean-Louis Chautemps played with Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Zoot Sims, Lester Young, Bobby Jaspar, Don Byas and Albert Ayler, before accompanying Chet Baker from 1957 until 1960. He then led his own band, performing in the Parisian clubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he rubbed shoulders with fellow French jazz musicians such as Martial Solal, Eddy Louis, René Urtreger, Daniel Humair, and others. In 1963, Jean-Louis Chautemps released, The Big Bidou, his first album as a leader followed by Œil Vision (1964) featuring Jef Gilson and Jean-Luc Ponty. After collaborating with Pierre Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain and the Musique Vivante ensemble for an American tour, Jean-Louis Chautemps studied the flute and undertook studies in musicology at the Sorbonne, in order to lead a jazz workshop within this university. In 1979, he created the Saxophone Quartet with François Jeanneau, Jacques Di Donato, and Philippe Maté, then performed contemporary works by Vinko Globokar. Jean-Louis Chautemps. He continued to perform and teach into the 2000s. Other albums as a leader included En Direct d'Antibes (1980), Soli Solo... Plus (1985), Chautemps (1988) and Freedom for Mumia Abu Jamal (2003). Jean-Louis Chautemps died on May 25, 2022, at the age of 90.

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