Didier Lockwood

Didier Lockwood pursued an expansive musical path that encompassed progressive rock, fusion, swing, and advanced hard bop. During the 1970s he belonged to the French avant-prog ensemble Magma, while the following decade positioned him as the successor to the celebrated lineage of French violinists that included Stephane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty. He first took up the violin at the age of six, only to abandon formal lessons a decade afterward and enter a rock band. In Paris he performed alongside Aldo Romano and Daniel Humair and others, eventually encountering Grappelli, with whom he later toured. Around 1979 he led the fusion outfit Surya and also recorded with Tony Williams. Lockwood appeared in the United States on multiple occasions and, in 1986, cut an acoustic album with fellow violinists John Blake and Michal Urbaniak. He sustained an active performing and recording schedule, amassing an extensive discography both as leader and collaborator that reached well into the opening two decades of the twenty-first century. Lockwood passed away in Paris during February 2018 at the age of 62.