Louis Sclavis

Louis Sclavis
Highly active on the international scene, he has collaborated with key figures of French jazz, including Michel Portal, Henri Texier, and Didier Levallet.

In 1980-81, he performed with Chris McGregor’s South African ensemble, Brotherhood of Breath. He formed his first group, “Tour de France,” featuring six musicians from various regions of France (Gérard Siracusa, Yves Robert, Beñat Achiary, Philippe Deschepper, Michel Doneda, and Alain Gibert). Furthermore, his growing penchant for collaboration has led him to work over the years with Tony Oxley, Evan Parker, John Lindberg, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, and Cecil Taylor. He is renowned for the originality of his improvisations and the intensity of his sound. His quartet with Bruno Chevillon, Christian Ville, and François Raulin—later expanded with the addition of Dominique Pifarély—earned him public acclaim in 1988 with the album China (1987), leading the Jazz Academy to name him "Musician of the Year" and award him the Django Reinhardt Prize. Supported by the German label ECM, Sclavis constantly explores new paths marked by continuous encounters: Ernst Reijseger, Jim Black, Dino Saluzzi, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Fred Frith, Aki Takase, Dave Douglas, and his mentor, Michel Portal. These are "places," as he likes to call them, within a single territory whose exploration he pursues until he feels the need for change. His music thus takes on a strong chamber dimension, focusing on the combination of instrumental timbres and improvisational cues. On the clarinet, he distinguishes himself through the nuances of his tone and a wide range of techniques (open keys, slap, growl). Sclavis’s work is driven by a sense of urgency, oscillating between tension and power.