Biography
French saxophonist and clarinetist Matthieu Bordenave crafts a painterly brand of modern creative jazz. Now based in Munich, Germany, he issued several early projects on Enja before shifting to ECM for La Traversée in 2020 and The Blue Land in 2024, both of which spotlight his trio featuring Patrice Moret and Florian Weber.
Born in Tarbes, France, in 1983, Bordenave began playing saxophone at a young age and pursued classical training with Christian Charnay alongside jazz improvisation studies under Thierry Girault. At 17 he relocated to Paris for lessons with André Villéger while simultaneously enrolling at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSM) to focus on jazz and improvised music. He later settled in Germany and completed a Master of Music degree at the Musikhochschule of Munich. Professionally he has collaborated with numerous artists, among them Lee Konitz, Rudi Mahall, and Yaron Herman. His first recording as a leader arrived in 2011 with Some Other Time, which included Peter O'Mara, Henning Sieverts, and Matthias Gmelin.
He subsequently joined the Enja roster and delivered Plays Edith Piaf in 2014, spotlighting his Le Café Bleu International trio with Leonard Kuhn and Jay Lateef. The following year he partnered with guitarist Geoff Goodman on Introverted Forest, then reconvened Le Café Bleu International for Tells Bedtime Stories in 2016. In 2017 Bordenave introduced his quartet on Terre de Sienne, again with Peter O'Mara, Henning Sieverts, and Shinya Fukumori. His ECM debut came in 2020 with La Traversée, presenting the trio of Moret and Weber, who returned for The Blue Land on the same label in 2024.
Born in Tarbes, France, in 1983, Bordenave began playing saxophone at a young age and pursued classical training with Christian Charnay alongside jazz improvisation studies under Thierry Girault. At 17 he relocated to Paris for lessons with André Villéger while simultaneously enrolling at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSM) to focus on jazz and improvised music. He later settled in Germany and completed a Master of Music degree at the Musikhochschule of Munich. Professionally he has collaborated with numerous artists, among them Lee Konitz, Rudi Mahall, and Yaron Herman. His first recording as a leader arrived in 2011 with Some Other Time, which included Peter O'Mara, Henning Sieverts, and Matthias Gmelin.
He subsequently joined the Enja roster and delivered Plays Edith Piaf in 2014, spotlighting his Le Café Bleu International trio with Leonard Kuhn and Jay Lateef. The following year he partnered with guitarist Geoff Goodman on Introverted Forest, then reconvened Le Café Bleu International for Tells Bedtime Stories in 2016. In 2017 Bordenave introduced his quartet on Terre de Sienne, again with Peter O'Mara, Henning Sieverts, and Shinya Fukumori. His ECM debut came in 2020 with La Traversée, presenting the trio of Moret and Weber, who returned for The Blue Land on the same label in 2024.
Albums
Singles
