LATEST ALBUM (2023): Crianças (The Music of Wayne Shorter)
A leading musician of a curious and open-minded generation—much like Miles Davis in his time—Julien Lourau has established himself as a key figure in French jazz. He has consistently remained outside of strict aesthetic schools, frequently reinventing his musical direction and collaborations.
His encounter in the early 1990s with pianist Bojan Zulfikarpaši?, newly arrived from Belgrade, led to a constellation of groups, the most prominent being Trash Corporation. At the same time, Julien Lourau founded the Groove Gang in 1992—the same year he won a soloist award at the La Défense National Jazz Competition. The group released several albums, including Gambit, on the Warner label.
In 2002, The Rise marked a turning point in his career in several ways: a return to acoustic music and the tenor saxophone, a reunion with Bojan Z’s piano, a renewed focus on jazz, and a growing interest in Latin American music—fueled by several trips to South America. Both a reflective album and a tribute to his late father, The Rise—with its eclectic form—opened up new creative avenues.
In recent years, Julien Lourau has continued to explore musical directions he had planted the seeds for in the previous decade. However, the enduring interest of audiences in this body of work has led him to revisit these compositions—to the delight of his listeners.
