Arthur H

Born in Paris during 1966, Arthur H. passed his teenage years in relative isolation and showed scant curiosity toward academic pursuits. At sixteen he embarked on a three-month voyage through the Antilles. His parents dispatched him to Boston for formal music studies, yet he remained only eighteen months before heading back to Paris. There he joined several ensembles and formed one specifically for the Festival of Bourges, though the event proved calamitous and prompted him to devote himself to sharpening his own sound. Drawing inspiration from Tom Waits and Theolonius Monk, he joined forces with bassist Brad Scott for a trio of performances at the modest Old Grid venue in December 1988; the appearances met with strong approval, leading the pair to play nightly at the club throughout the following month. Once drummer Paul Jothy joined the lineup, acclaim for Arthur H. grew further. Recalling the styles of Boris Vian and Serge Gainsbourg, he spent the ensuing period on extensive tours across Europe, East Africa, Japan, and North America. His first album, Arthur H. Leaves, appeared in September 1989. Between 1989 and 1994 he completed more than seven hundred concerts and moved 150,000 records internationally. Trouble-Fete, issued on Polydor Music in 1996, preceded the simultaneous 1997 releases Cool Jazz and Fete-Trouble. Bachibouzouk followed in 1998, with Et Le Bachibau Band en Chair et En arriving the next year. For Mrs. X, his sixth album across five years, surfaced in summer 2000.