Thierry Lalo (piano et direction artistique)
For his work as a composer, Thierry Lalo was the first jazz musician to receive the ' New Musical Talent of the Year ' award in 2002, from the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD) for his jazz opera Ramdam! . According to Louis Dunoyer of Ségonzac the opera owes its dazzling success to the excellence of the CREA* teenage choir and to the dynamism of its director Didier Grojsman, but above all to the composing talent of Thierry Lalo, whose natural dramatic creativity shines in this opera. Following its conception in Drancy in 2001, Ramdam! (commissioned by the CREA, libretto by Colette Tomiche) was performed, among other places, at the National Opera in Paris Bastille.
Founder and Leader of the Voice Messengers, Thierry Lalo is also its principal arranger and architect. Rather original for an ex-HEC student , his career was influenced on the one hand by mainstream jazz (Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Miles Davis, Horace Silver and the great big band leaders and arrangers like Duke Ellington, Nestico/Basie, Marty Paich, Quincy Jones, and others.) and on the other by European vocal polyphony - from the Renaissance to so-called contemporary music - which he practiced assiduously from 1985 to 1995.
(* Centre d'Eveil Artistique )
- de la Renaissance à la musique dite contemporaine - qu'il a pratiquée assidûment en tant que chanteur entre 1985 et 1995.
Acknowledged specialist of vocal jazz in Europe , since scoring Ramdam!Thierry has already written the music for two more jazz operas: Trois contes pour deux bâtons et une corde (2004 - commissioned by the Cité de la Musique, libretto by Vincent Tavernier), andLe Joueur de flûte de Hamelin (2005 - commissioned by the city of Ermont , libretto by Cécile Rigazio). He's also in demand to write arrangements and original compositions for other vocal groups, in particular in Holland and Germany .
Thierry is also a recognized teacher. He runs regular vocal workshops in France , Germany , Holland , Italy and Denmark ; and is a member of several international juries for judging the pop/rock/jazz categories of international competitions. Since 2004, he directs the Big Band des Universités de Paris . He is the author a book about the pianist John Lewis (published by Limon, 1991) and occasionally gives courses on the history of jazz.
Contact : thierry@voice-messengers.com
www.thierrylalo.com
