René Urtreger (born July 6, 1934) is a French
bebop pianist.
Early life
Urtreger was born in Paris and began his piano studies at the age of four, studying privately first, and then at the Conservatory. He studied with an orientation toward jazz, playing in a small Parisian club, the Sully d' Auteuil. Conducted by
Hubert Damisch, the Sully boasted an orchestra of talented students including
Sacha Distel and Louis Viale. In 1953, Urtreger won first prize in a piano contest for amateurs, and from that moment decided to be a professional musician.
Later life and career
In a Parisian concert in 1954, he accompanied two great American expatriates: saxophonist
Don Byas and trumpeter
Buck Clayton. Their collaboration in the "Salon du Jazz" became one of the most highly requested French performances by the American musicians that toured the French capital.
After serving in the military from 1955 to 1957, Urtreger would play in a club on the
left bank of the Seine, the famous
Club Saint-Germain. Again he collaborated with two jazz masters:
Miles Davis and
Lester Young. His work so impressed the latter that Urteger accompanied Young for a short tour of Europe in 1956. In December 1957, he was part of Davis's group which recorded the soundtrack to the film Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows).[1]
In the late 1950s he worked with the likes of
Lionel Hampton,
Stan Getz,
Chet Baker,
Dexter Gordon,
Sonny Rollins and
Ben Webster among others. Shortly thereafter, he broadened his focus to accompany other artists of other genres, largely due to financial necessity. His canon of jazz work is still widely regarded as sensitive with a full, dense sound of swing. The Academie du Jazz of France formally recognized his accomplishments in 1961 with the
Prix Django Reinhardt for outstanding jazz artist of the year.
He subsequently provided soundtracks for films by
Claude Berri among others.[2]
In 1977, he reappeared on the Paris jazz scene with the intention to resume his career. His renaissance was as a small-ensemble accompanist, with
Lee Konitz,
Aldo Romano or
Barney Wilen. His 1980 performance at the
Antibes Jazz Festival was an important performance of his later career. He was also featured at "Le Jazz Cool, Le Jazz Hot: A Celebration of Modern Jazz in Los Angeles and France" at the
Getty Museum in Los Angeles (November 2007).[3]
In an interview, Urtreger said "Jazz is supposed to be a music of improvisation, of madness".[4]