Renaud Garcia-Fons

All Music Guide:

Sometimes referred to as "the Paganini of double bass," Renaud Garcia-Fons is a composer and five-string bass player who was deeply influenced by the brilliant bassist François Rabbath. Garcia-Fons actually started his studies in music at an early age. He began with piano when he was only five, switched to classical guitar at eight, and then to rock in his teens, finally settling on the bass when he was 16. Garcia-Fons lives in Paris and has toured through Germany and Europe performing at festivals. In 1987, he became a member of the Orchestre de Contrebasses. He remained with them for six years, also appearing with the Orchestre National de Jazz during some of that time. ENJA Records released Garcia-Fons' solo debut, Légendes, in the '90s. Alboreá was his next release. The album featured his quartet of Jean-Louis Matinier on accordion, Jacques Mahieux on drums, and Yves Torchinsky on bass. Garcia-Fons' third album, Oriental Bass, which he composed, was released in 1998. Next, he combined talents with accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier on the album Fuera. Garcia-Fons' music is a rich gypsy mix of global jazz flavored with Indian, Greek, African, flamenco, Latin American, tango, and new musette. On many works he is accompanied by a variety of instruments, including guitar, lute, derbouka, flutes, trombone, and accordion.

Wikipedia:

Renaud Garcia-Fons (* near Paris December 24, 1962 ) is a French double-bass player and composer, notable for his customised 5-stringed bass.

Career [edit]

Garcia-Fons' father is the painter Pierre Garcia-Fons, and his family is of Catalonian origin. started playing music at an early age, began with piano when he was only five, switched to classical guitar at eight, and then to rock in his teens, finally settling on the bass when he was 16. In the early 1980s Garcia-Fons enrolled at the Paris Conservatory; he has studied with François Rabbath who taught him his special technique of playing arco. Garcia-Fons is known for his melodic sense and his viola-like col arco sound and sometimes even referred to as "the Paganini of double bass.

Garcia-Fons is influenced by jazz and classical music and by flamenco, new musette, and "imaginary folklore" traditions. He started playing jazz in trumpet player Roger Guérin's band. From 1987 to 1993 he was part of a French all-double bass ensemble L'Orchestre de Contrebasses before he played in the Orchestre National de Jazz directed by Claude Barthélémy. He collaborated with jazz musicians like Jean-Louis Matinier, Michael Riessler, Nguyên Lê, and Michel Godard. He contributed to recordings of Gerardo Núñez and to Middle Eastern players such as Kudsi Erguner, Dhafer Youssef, and Cheb Mami.