Andy Emler & MegaOctet
Biographie Andy Emler & MegaOctet
Andy Emler
composer, pianist, a catalyst of enthusiasm, initiator of collaborations, arranger, a lover of improvisation, is a man of invention.
After taking composition, harmony, counterpoint and fugue courses (Prize in counterpoint 1981 – variation for organ in the style of J.S. Bach and an orchestration class under Marius Constant – at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris) and Saturday night dances (rock, pop), he embarked on a variety of musical adventures with such notable musicians as : Antoine Hervé, Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Woody Shaw, Trilok Gurtu…
An educator by taste, keen to follow the age-old tradition of passing on musical desire and pleasure over generations, and a composer (ONJ 86, La Bande à Badault, WDR Big Band…), he is equally successful working with small and large ensembles.
He created his own personal laboratory, the MegaOctet in 1989 with 8 of the 1980s generation’s « most flamboyant improvisers », and was awarded the 1992 Django d’Or for best French jazz band of the year. This band left a huge mark on the early 1990s music scene.
Between 1994 and 1999, he was appointed co-director of the Scène Marnaise de Création Musicale, and took part in the collective adventure of POM, a big band of ever-shifting line-up.
In 2000, he formed a new incarnation of the MegaOctet, was artist-in-residence until June 2003 at the Espace Daniel-Sorano in Vincennes with the Compagnie aime l’air, which he formed with Thierry Virolle. He created “Pop Unit 2000“ with the MegaOctet, two dancers and video projections.
In parallel he performed in a duo with Philippe Sellam, in a trio with Denis Badault and Emmanuel Bex, and another with Claude Tchamitchian and Eric Echampard. He regularly works with Ars Nova and Pascal Contet on contemporary music projects and, of course, with the MegaOctet.
He also became in great demand as composer for many commissions for professional ensembles of all sizes as well as ensembles bringing together professional and amateur musicians.
November 2003 saw the release of “Tee time“ by the Emler, Tchamitchian, Echampard trio (which caught the press’s attention : “Emoi“ in Jazz Magazine, **** in Jazzman…), and “Bouts de souffles“, a duo with Pascal Contet.
Andy Emler and the Compagnie aime l’air were in an residency at L’apostrophe, Scène nationale de Cergy-Pontoise et du Val d’Oise, from September 2004 to June 2007.
Premiere for the MegaOctet with Michel Portal in November 2005 at Jazz au fil de l’Oise. …
