Benoît Delbecq

A pianist schooled in both jazz and contemporary classical traditions, Benoît Delbecq played a key role in renewing Paris’s new-music community during the 1990s. Among the ensembles he helped establish are his quartet Painting, formed with Steve Argüelles, the Hask Collective, active since 1992, the group Kartet, and the Recyclers, a project uniting Delbecq with Argüelles and Noël Akchoté. He has also appeared in two Serge Adams-led outfits: the large ensemble Quoi de Neuf Docteur and the African-inflected Jazz Mic Mac, which toured central Africa. Additional partnerships and recording sessions have linked him with an international roster of forward-thinking improvisers that includes Evan Parker, Steve Lacy, Michael Moore, Derek Bailey, Marc Ducret, Gianni Gebbia, Louis Sclavis, and Francois Houle. His performances are documented on discs issued by ADDA, Deux Z/Babel, Rectangle, DOC, BVHaast, Songlines, and other imprints. Beyond ensemble work, Delbecq has written scores for film, dance, and theater while maintaining a creative association with poet Olivier Cadiot.