Philippe Saisse

Born in Marseilles and raised in Paris, contemporary jazz keyboardist, composer, and producer Philippe Saisse grew up as the son of a staff producer at CBS/Sony France. He trained in piano, music theory, and composition at the Paris National Conservatory, and in 1975 he claimed the Paul Winter Scholarship from Boston’s Berklee College of Music upon completion of his studies. At Berklee, vibraphonist Gary Burton took him under his wing, which led to a stint performing with Narada Michael Walden. Saisse made his recording debut on Al Di Meola’s 1979 album Splendido Hotel and soon broadened his reach into pop sessions, contributing to David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), Chaka Khan’s I Feel for You, and the Rolling Stones’ Dirty Work. He also gained recognition for composing material for Di Meola and Al Jarreau, the latter of whom he co-produced on the 1988 release Heart’s Horizon, as well as for David Sanborn, and he served as musical director for the Sanborn-hosted television program Night Music.

Saisse joined the Windham Hill roster in 1988 and issued his first solo project, Valerian. He returned to session work on albums by Bowie, Jarreau, Luther Vandross, and additional artists before resurfacing with Masques in 1995. Next Voyage appeared in 1997, followed two years later by Halfway Till Dawn, which included a guest turn from Angélique Kidjo. Throughout the subsequent decade he maintained a steady presence on recordings by Marc Antoine, Kirk Whalum, Dave Koz, and others while continuing to issue solo efforts such as 2005’s Storyteller and 2009’s Philippe Saisse, the latter featuring Whalum, Antoine, Jeff Golub, Rick Braun, and further contributors. In 2017 he released the trio recording Blue Rondo.