Christophe Monniot
Saxophone
He began by studying the trumpet, before preferring the saxophone, all at the conservatory of Caen, and obtained a master’s degree in musicology at the university of Rouen. He was noticed within Laurent Dehors’ group, Tous Dehors, then with the creation of the Compagnie des musiques à ouïr, a delirious country music trio with his companions Rémi Sciuto and Denis Charolles. His impressive qualities as a soloist have earned him a place in the bands of Stéphan Oliva, Daniel Humair, Patrice Caratini, and Fred Pallem’s festive Sacre du tympan.
Christophe Monniot was also called by Paolo Damiani to participate in the ONJ adventure from 2000 to 2002.
His favorite saxophones are the alto, the baritone and to a lesser extent the sopranino.
He adds to his iconoclastic side by titling his pieces in an original way: Drame en baisse (a pun on Drum and bass), Rhétorique pour un barbare, La promenade du rat musqué, or by completely deconstructing standards like Desafinado or Muskrat Ramble.
Christophe Monniot is not afraid of original projects: in 2001 he created a solo show about Tino Rossi, revisited in his own way.
In 2007, he created Vivaldi Universel, commissioned by the Rhino Jazz Festival, to reinterpret Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the light of climate change. Martial Solal described this album as a « total success ». Everything is there: invention, technique, originality, madness, seriousness, lyrics etc…
Christophe Monniot and Emil Spanyi, a well-known keyboardist, created Ozone in 2006, in order to propose a very personal reading, resolutely electric and electronic, of jazz standards (from Duke Ellington to Antonio Carlos Jobim). Their first CD was acclaimed by the Académie Charles Cros. Their second album was released in September 2010 by BMC, a Hungarian label specializing in European improvised music, and was praised by the critics.
Christophe Monniot has also proven his talent in the field of musical writing, whether for large groups such as the JPOA3, or for smaller formations (the Ozone trio or Moniomania). The saxophonist-composer shows a pronounced taste for the decapitant or new sound alliances.
A recognized composer, he shares his work with students of conservatories since 2005, by publishing « Duos for 2 saxophones 4« , published in February 2005, five emblematic compositions of his vast repertoire: Valse pour Alex – Twist – L’une rousse – Mécanique Samovar – La bourrée des Mariés.
With Station Mir, his new project, he explores all the expressive facets of an acoustic trio whose instrumentation refers as much to chamber music as to imaginary folklore. This formula was inaugurated in Grenoble in April 2010, with the accordionist Didier Ithursarry and the violist Guillaume Roy.
