Erik Truffaz 4tet
@ the Love Supreme Jazz Festival
2 July 2016

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Biography

Soundscape explorer Erik Truffaz entered the public consciousness at the turn of the millennium with a repertoire grounded in jazz and branching off into rock, funk and even urban electronica. The French trumpeter has since earned a place among the new jazz elite, crafting modern, imaginative musical atmospheres out of a minimum of notes.

Born in 1960, trumpeter Erik Truffaz grew up listening to his father play saxophone and joined him on the bandstand at age ten. As a teenager, the young musician heard Miles Davis’ opus, “Kind Of Blue,” which inspired him to set off for the Geneva Conservatoire shortly after. While there, Truffaz played in the Orchestre de Suisse Romande and a few cover bands. In 1990, he formed his own outfit, Orange, which won France’s prestigious Prix Special the following year.
Kind of Blue... Note

Heading up his self-named band, the artist delved into more experimental material with a trio of European releases, starting with the well-received “Out of a Dream” in 1997. His American debut came in 2000 with “The Mask,” followed by “Revisité” (2001), a dance music remix of the album, and “Mantis” (2002) - all of which were released on the famed Blue Note label.

Atmospheric and richly textured, Truffaz's compositions have been described as “sound collage.” Indeed, he is often likened to Miles Davis for his avant-garde approach to jazz fusion. Integrating drum n’ bass and hip-hop into his music, Truffaz is clearly unafraid of pushing the boundaries of his instrument.

In 2008, the ever-evolving trumpeter released “Rendez-Vous,” a series of musical postcards from the far-flung destinations of Paris, Benares and Mexico City.
For “In Between,” released in 2010, he reunited with the members of his quartet and collaborated with singer-songwriter Sophie Hunter on two songs.

In October 2012, Truffaz unveiled material from his new album “El Tiempo de la revolución” as part of a Jazz All-Year Round series concert. Four years later, he released the album “Doni Doni,” colored with new inspiration and influences taken from a scenic collaboration with the South African danse company VUYANI. Opening up to African sounds, he invited two renowned voices to this recording: Rokia Traoré and Oxmo Puccino.