Daniel Humair

Daniel Humair (* May 23, 1938 in Geneva ) is a Swiss jazz drummer.

Life and work

Humair began playing at the age of seven years, clarinet and percussion. He started a professional career after winning the 1955 international amateur competition of the Zurich Jazz Festival first prize in three categories. In 1958 he moved to Paris, where he worked with musicians such as Chet Baker, Kenny Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Lucky Thompson, Don Byas, Bud Powell, Oscar Pettiford and Nico Bunink.

In 1959 he founded with a group Martial Solal, met with to the passage of time Pierre Michelot, Rene Urtreger, Barney Wilen, Michel Hausser and Stéphane Grappelli. In 1965 he took part in Attila Zoller's album Beyond The Horizon and 1967 to Jean -Luc Ponty's debut album Sunday Walk. In the same year he was also involved in the ethno - jazz project Noon in Tunisia by George Gruntz. He became a member of Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine 1968, at the same time he played in a trio with Jean -Luc Ponty and Eddy Louiss. 1972 belonged Humair with George Gruntz, Franco and Flavio Ambrosetti on the co- leaders and founders of "The Band ", which later became The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band emerged.

In the 1970s, Humair stepped on, inter alia, with Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Franco Ambrosetti, George Gruntz, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Mann, Anthony Braxton and Hampton Hawes and founded with Henri Texier and François Jeanneau a trio.

At the same time his collaboration began in a trio with Joachim Kühn and Jean -François Jenny -Clark, from which, after the death of Jenny -Clark, 1998, the quartet with Dominique Pifarély and Jean -Paul Celea emerged. In addition, he also collaborated with Dave Liebman, Enrico Rava, Richard Galliano, Michel Portal and Jerry Bergonzi and in a trio with Bruno and Marc Ducret Chevillon.

Humair occurs worldwide jazz festivals, participated in over two hundred albums and has published more than fifteen albums of his own. 1986 he was appointed by the French Government to Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 1987 he received the Grand Prix du Jazz of authors, composers and publishers association SACEM, the Prix du Disque of the Académie Charlie Parker and the Prix Charles Cros In Honorem the Académie.

In addition, Humair operated since the 1960s as a painter, his abstract paintings can be found in several well-known collections in Europe. He also worked as a musician in films with and composed film scores, eg for Une affaire sale ( A dirty affair ) and Les Conquistadores.

Discography (selection)

  • Live at " Caméléon " Paris, Vol 1/2, 1968
  • Humair, Jeanneau, Texier, 1979
  • 9-11 P.M. Town Hall, 1988
  • Quatre, 1989
  • Edges, 1991
  • Usual Confusion, 1994
  • Update 3.3, 1996
  • Quatre fois trois, 1997
  • Flench wok, 2005
  • Sweet & Sour, 2012
215354
de