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Baptiste Trotignon

Born near Paris in 1974, Baptiste Trotignon grew up in the Loire region, outside Saumur. He started playing the piano when he was 8, and a few years later he joined the Nantes Conservatory, where he won prizes for piano and harmony. In his teenage years, he discovered and taught himself jazz and improvisation, performing his first concerts at the age of sixteen.

In 1994 he appeared as actor and musician in Alain Corneau's movie "Le Nouveau Monde", deciding to move to Paris the following year. In 1998 he formed his trio with Clovis Nicolas (double bass) and Tony Rabeson (drums), and then develops his activities as a leader and signs with the independent label Naïve: released in June 2000, his debut album FLUIDE revealed him as one of the most spectacular, broad-ranging and fascinating pianists of his generation. The album won a Django d'Or for Best First Record in March 2001. Still with the same musicians, he released his second album SIGHTSEEING later that same year: Jazzman declared it "The shock of the year" and in December 2001 the Jazz Academy awarded Baptiste the Prix Django Reinhardt, an annual award given to the jazz musician of the year.

He began to make fewer and fewer appearances as a sideman, performing instead with increasing frequency both with his trio and as a solo artist at international jazz festivals, including: Jazz in Marciac, Montréal, La Villette Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, Nice, Montreux, Vancouver, Toronto, Ramatuelle, Parc Floral de Paris, Nancy Jazz Pulsations...

In October 2002 he won the "Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris" at the Martial Solal International Jazz Competition, and a few months later he also received the French Newcomer of the Year award at the Victoires du Jazz 2003. Spring 2003 saw Baptiste Trotignon release a new recording, this time as a solo pianist performing his original compositions; it was a disc widely praised by the press ("ffff" in Télérama, "Shock of the year" in Jazzman, "top choice" in Jazz Magazine), by the buying public (over 15,000 copies sold) and concert-goers (La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, Salle Pleyel in Paris, and many others). In early 2005 he released an excellent recording of a four- piece co-led by David El-Malek; the eponymous TROTIGNON – EL-MALEK was widely praised by press and public alike. October 25, 2005 witnessed the release of SOLO II, a new studio album backed by a live DVD recorded at Piano aux Jacobins and an interview with Michel Contat, released as a digipack and limited edition longbox. Beyond simple genres, this latest solo album was a return to the spirit of his debut that confirmed Baptiste's uncontested originality, as if such a thing had ever been in doubt. It was around this time that he first met Aldo Romano, and a true musical affinity developed between them as they gave concerts together, most often as a trio with Rémi Vignolo. In autumn 2006, this combo released the remarkable album FLOWER POWER, a musical homage to the period between the late sixties and early seventies. Without ever disguising their particular musical language, the three of them offered their take on a repertoire of pop songs and tracks written by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or Bob Dylan, as well as Gainsbourg and Polnareff.

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Album Review

Baptiste Trotignon: Share

Read "Share" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


At first blush, one thought and just one thought rattles around in the mind: “Can Bill Evans never rest in peace?" But then the music of “Samsara," the second track on the lovely Share wafts into the inner ear.

With flugelhornist Tom Harrell and Mark Turner wailing on tenor saxophone, Share's main protagonist, Baptiste Trotignon, plays rapid trills beforesettling down and applying a remarkable dynamic to his piano solo. Withdrawing the emotion of the song into a virtual ...

148
Album Review

Baptiste Trotignon: Solo

Read "Solo" reviewed by J. Robert Bragonier


What is it about France and the French? In the U.S., where jazz is part of our cultural heritage, attendance at live jazz events and jazz album sales are anemic by comparison. The future of jazz here would be considerably healthier if we were half as interested in jazz as are the French! Solo is the first solo album to be released by Baptiste Trotignon, the latest in a series of French jazz pianists of enviable talent and ...

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