Jean-François Jenny-Clark

Jean -François " J. F. " Jenny -Clark ( born July 12, 1944 in Toulouse, † October 6, 1998 in Paris) was a French double-bass player. He was considered one of the greatest and most accomplished bassists of European jazz of his time.

His family is from the U.S.. After two years of self-taught study of the double bass, he enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire National de Music, where his studies in 1968 with a first prize closes. With the drummer Aldo Romano, he built while studying on a rhythm team which in 1965 the basis for the free jazz group of Bernard Vitet and Don Cherry Quintet was formed, as well as for concerts with Keith Jarrett ( 1970 ) and 1975 for Jasper van ' t Hof's jazz-rock group Pork Pie ( with Charlie Mariano ). In addition, he worked with Michel Portal, Barney Wilen, Steve Lacy, Charles Tolliver, Steve Kuhn and Slide Hampton.

But as a member of Ensemble Musique Vivante Diego Masson he performed well as works of contemporary music of John Cage, Luciano Berio, Mauricio Kagel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez and Vinko Globokar.

From 1984 to 1987, he led, together with Albert Mangelsdorff the Franco-German jazz ensemble. Since about 1985, Jenny -Clark but mainly in the trio heard with pianist Joachim Kühn and drummer Daniel Humair. This fantastic -established exception group was characterized by a balanced coexistence finest nuances and Powerplay and was occasionally extended by Michel Portal (see 9-11 PM Town Hall, 1988)

His timing, his intonation, and his flair for sensitive ensemble made ​​Jenny -Clark to the coveted " companion ". He has, for example, worked with Don Cherry, Karl Berger, Joe Henderson, Gato Barbieri, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Helen Merrill, Richard Galliano, Michel Petrucciani and Martial Solal. Jenny -Clark, who died at the age of 54 from lung cancer, has only one album under his own name recorded ( Unison, 1987).

In 1974 he was awarded the Prix Django Reinhardt.