Lionel Benhamou

Lionel Benhamou (* 1956, † 1995) was a French jazz guitarist.

Benhamou first studied classical guitar, but came through his father, an amateur jazz musician, early contact with jazz and began playing in Dixieland bands banjo. After that he played with Bill Coleman, " Anachronic Jazz Band " and " Sharkey & Co. ". In 1982 he co-founded the group " Galigai " ( with pianist Michel Précastelli, Marc Michel, Umberto Pagnini ), with whom he released a self-titled album in 1982, his debut album. He also played with musicians such as John Scofield, Zool Fleischer ( with his quintet on "Picnic Tragic " ), Marc Bertaux, Toots Thielemans, Johnny Griffin, Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn, Albert Mangelsdorff, Siegfried Kessler, Jef Gilson and John Lewis. He was a member of the big band " Lumiere " by Laurent Cugny (also under the direction of Gil Evans ), the. By Martial Solal, Denis Badault and "Swing String System" by Didier Levallet In 1988 he formed his own trio with bassist Jean -Jacques Avenel and drummer Tony Rabeson ( album "Fruits cuits, Fruits crus " at Open). He also appeared as a soloist, worked with Riccardo Del Fra and Stéphane Huchard and was from 1991 to 1994 a member of the Orchestre National de Jazz under Denis Badault and Cugny.

He taught guitar at the CIM.

Benhamou even counted the different kinds of music as influences on his style on: classical jazz ( he knew from his youth by his father all the plates of Lester Young and Charlie Parker), Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, as well as Alban Berg and the late string quartets by Beethoven.

• Jazz guitarist
• Frenchman
• Born in 1956
• Died in 1995
• Man