Home » Member Page

Gilles Laheurte

A humanist of many talents, some of his friends consider him as a contemporary Renaissance man...

About Me

I was born in Lyon (France) in 1946, studied at the Beaux-arts School of architecture in Strasbourg, came to New York in 1966 and graduated from Columbia University in 1972. An architect / planner, an artist, a writer, a poet, a stage actor, a photographer and an amateur jazz musician, I have always been interested in all kinds of creative activities, music in particular, one of the great passions of my life:

AS A PERFORMER
- started trumpet at age eight, fooled around with trombone at eighteen
- self-taught on soprano and sopranino saxophones, bass clarinet, Tanzanian mbiras (thumb pianos), cymbals, gongs, and various percussions
- performed first public solo soprano saxophone concert in Haiti in 1982, and as a member of an amateur quintet (1982-84) playing mostly Dixieland jazz
- studied music theory with a professional reedplayer, graduate of Berklee School of Music while in Rwanda (1985-86); gave a solo soprano saxophone performance in Kigali in February 1986
- played my first New York City gig in September 2004 in the loft of Sculptor Alain Kirili for an homage to Steve Lacy (solo and in trio appropriately named 'THREE FOR LACY' with Joe McPhee & Joe Giardullo, soprano saxophones)
- played on December 4, 2005 in Antwerp (Belgium) with THREE FOR LACY, as part of the 1st 'Come Sunday' concert of the DeSingel 2005/2006 Season.

AS A PRODUCER
- Associate producer of Steve Lacy's CD 'TEN OF DUKES AND SIX ORIGINALS' Solo at the Eggfarm, Japan (Senators Records, 2002)
- Producer of music DVDS of two Steve Lacy bands:
.'MONK's DREAM LIVE at IRIDIUM' filmed on August 11, 2002 (one DVD), (still photos used in Jason Weiss Conversations published by Duke University Press, 2008)
.'MONKSILAND' filmed at Iridium on March 25, 2004 (two DVDS)
- Producer / Cameraman for Videos and DVDS:
. Michael Attias (quartet + 2 dancers); Kevin Norton (Dewline Trio); Will Holshouser (Reed Song Trio); Kevin Norton's Dewline quintet: The Music of Steve Lacy (with trumpeter Dave Ballou, bassist John Lindberg, vocalist Kristin Norderval, and poet Bob Holman reading poetry) and Tony Malaby Trio
- USA Representative of the French Jazz label Senators Records dedicated exclusively to the music of Steve Lacy


AS A WRITER
- Book: LET'S CALL THIS : THE BATH, Steve Lacy on tour 1995-2000 , a compilation of concert reviews with photos (USA, France and Japan), Foreword by Steve Lacy
- Liner notes: Steve Lacy's two double albums, THE RENT (Cavity Search, 1999) and SNIPS (Jazz Magnet, 2000); Will Holshouser's SINGING TO A BEE (Cleanfeed, 2006) ; Ken Filiano's DREAMS FROM A CLOWN CAR (Cleanfeed, 2010) ; and his own CD releases JUMP & FLEE!, DREAMS and MOMENTS OF LIFE (Selfgratifying Productions, 1998, 2005 and 2008)
- Concert Reviews: reviewer of concerts/gigs in NYC for the monthly 'Jazz Improv / NY'(Oct. 2005: Dom Minasi, Kenny Wessel, Nov. 2005: Moutin Reunion Quartet, Dec 2005: Tony Malaby
- Contributor: to All About Jazz / USA and AAJ/Italy: Articles on Steve Lacy, and on the TAO Saxophone Quartet
- Contributor: to the book THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC (published in January 2009)


DISCOGRAPHY
. Jump and Flee! Improvised Music, Retrospective 1979-1986 (Self-Gratifying Productions, 1998)
. Short Cuts, Improvised Music 1998-2004 (Self-Gratifying Productions, still in preparation)
. Dreams, A Humble Tribute to Steve Lacy (Self-Gratifying Productions, 2005) - listed as AAJ/NY's Best of 2005 / Category Tribute Recordings
. Moments of Life (Self-Gratifying Productions, 2008)
. Wings of Light (Self-Gratifying Productions, in preparation, scheduled release: 2012)


Personal Statement: 'Nothing is more important than the eternal present moment.'

My Articles

Contact Me

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.