Joelle Leandre

Joëlle Léandre, a contrabassist and improviser, regards John Cage as one of her closest mentors, though the volume and caliber of her output since she began recording in 1981 have gone largely under-recognized. She has collaborated in performance and on disc with numerous leading figures in improvised music, among them German bassist Peter Kowald, American reedsman and composer Anthony Braxton, Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer, Australian violinist Jon Rose, vocalist Lauren Newton, and British guitarist Fred Frith.

Born in Aix-en-Provence, France, Léandre first took up recorder and piano before settling on double bass. Outstanding musicianship brought her honors and scholarships throughout her training, one of which placed her in Buffalo, NY, where she encountered composers John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, and Morton Feldman. She has recorded works by Cage and Scelsi and appeared with new-music ensembles including 2E2M and l'Ensemble Intercontemporain. A personal friendship with Cage formed, leaving a deep imprint on her music and her understanding of sound. Within jazz she gravitated toward free playing and found another formative influence in Derek Bailey, with whom she later recorded.

Léandre has documented duo work with bassist William Parker and trombonist Sebi Tramontana, and has performed as a member of the European Women's Improvising Group, the Marilyn Crispell Quartet, the Canvas Trio with violinist Carlos Zingaro and clarinetist Rüdiger Carl, and a trio featuring pianist Georg Graewe and clarinetist François Houle. During the 1990s she held residencies in Berlin and Metz, France, and she continues to write and paint while maintaining her musical and teaching activities. Her recordings have appeared on FMP, Intakt, Leo, Hat, and, most extensively, on Chris Cutler's Recommended Records (ReR).