JOËLLE LÉANDRE

Joëlle Léandre is one of the most eminent figures in the world's new music scene. An excellent performer, witty, a superior double bass player and composer who feels at home both in the world of “classics” – she was trained in orchestral as well as contemporary music – and the world of most radical improvisation at the very verge of the possible. John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, Steve Lacy etc. have all composed especially for her. A former member of the famous Pierre Boulez's Ensemble Intercontemporain, she has written extensively for theatre and dance (she also worked with Merce Cunningham and Josef Nadj), staged a number of multidisciplinary performances, held workshops and residences throughput Europe, USA and Asia as well as playing in a great many ensembles and with some of the great names in jazz and improvisation (Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, William Parker, Peter Kowald, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Marilyn Crispell…). Joëlle Léandre has over 150 recordings to her credit. In 1983 she became a member of the European Women Improvising Group (EWIG) formed from the former Feminist Improvising Group and followed by the famous still active feminist improvisation trio Les Diaboliques (JL with Maggie Nicols and Irène Schweizer).