Gaël Horellou

Saxophonist with a classical and jazz background, Gaël Horellou's career started in 1992.

From 1994 to 1997, he is a member of the Collectif Mu (Vienne Festival 1995 and Jazz at La Défense 1996) and helps founding the Crescent Jazz Club where he shared the stage with experimented guests such as Charles Bellanzi, Luigi Trussardi, Clovis Nicolas, Wayne Dockery, Eric Lelann, Steve Grossman, Peter King, Ricardo del Fra…

In 1996 together with KPT’N PLANET (Philippe Garcia on drums) he founded the group Cosmik Connection (MIDEM Talents 2001 and Electro Discovery of The 2000 Printemps de Bourges), an electro-drum’n’jazz fusion laboratory quickly joined by Jérémie Picard (aka Jahbass).

In 2000 he joined Laurent de Wilde sextet and followed him on tour and in the studio for the Time for Change and Stories albums. He also continues to put his sax on electronic music recordings (UHT, DJ Volta, DJ Ben…) and starts to produce his own solo performance with a live electro-drum’n’bass show that he plays under the pseudonym Dual Snake.

In 2002 he founded the group NHX, a new electro-instrumental laboratory with Yoann Serra on drums and three musicians who played in Magma, Philippe Bussonnet (bass), Emmanuel Borghi (fender rhodes) and James Mac Gaw (guitar).

In 2003 Gaël Horellou meets Barry Harris during an internship at The Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He’s been since studying regularly with the master of bebop in Europe or in the United States.

In 2004 he collaborated with Laurent de Wilde on the Organics (ADAMI Talents 2005) album composition. An electro-jazz quintet with Yoann Sera and Philippe Bussonet.

In 2007 he produced a beautiful nu-jazz album halfway between acoustic and computer composition Explorations (DTC Records/ La Baleine).

In 2008 Gaël Horellou starts a quartet with Jean-Sebastien Simonoviez, Francois Gallix and the American drummer Ari Hoenig. The band records a double live album at the Sunside in Paris Pour la Terre ( DTC Records/ Harmonia Mundi). Follows a tour in 2009 and 2010 ( Night of Jazz à Caeun, Lyon Hot Club, Sunside in Paris, PocoLoco in Clermont-Ferrand, Tabor Park in Rennes etc). The group participates at the Chambers Music America and gives a concert at the Jazz Gallery in New York in May 2010.

Since 2002, Gaël Horellou has been performing regularly in trio sax/bass/drums with Géraud Portal and Antoine Paganotti or Philippe Soirat. Lots of concerts in small venues in Paris and the provinces and also in festivals (Cervione 2010, Jazz under the apple trees in 2010, etc ...) Three trio albums to date on the Petit Label  Live 2008, Segment (2010), Plo (2012).

Between 2006 and 2011, he plays with the transition band of the pianist composer Jean-Sebastien Simonoviez (Albums A different Way in 2007 and Transition Cosmic Power in 2012.

Since 2008 he acts as a trainer at Cifap through the formation created by Dume Poutet "Merging electro on Ableton Live".

From 2010 to 2013, he’s been co-organizing a pedagogical internship followed by a jazz festival at L’Aude in Fontiers-Cabardes in July : Jazz at Frontiers. Since 2010 Gael Horellou regularly gives Jazz master classes and improvisation (Caen CNR and Annecy, Chamalières, CNR de Paris, ARPEJ in Paris, etc ...)

Since August 2012, he's referent for the Jazz Internship at the Festival of Brass of the Monastier in Gazeille. He also host every month the "After-hours sessions" of the Duc des Lombards (Paris). In this context, he has the opportunity to meet and play with international musicians such as : Jeremy Pelt, Marcus Miller, Roxy Coss, Rodney Green, Jonhatan Barber, Jalil Shaw, Eric Alexander, etc.

December 2014: quartet concert at Something Jazz (New York) for the release of the album BrOoklyn. Show at Nublu of the electronic duo with Ari Hoenig Nasty Factorz and concert of the solo projet Travels at Shape Shifter's Lab (Brooklyn).

March 2015: Reunion Island residency/concerts/recording of the projet Identité, fusion of jazz and maloya, La Reunion traditionnal music with Florent Gac (Hammond B3) and 4 local musicians: Vincent Philéas, Emmanuel Félicité, Jerome Calciné (percussion/vocal) and Nicolas Beaulieu (guitar). Masteclass at the Conservatory of  St Pierre.

March 2017 : release of the album Identité (Breakz/Socadisc), tour in the Indian ocean then France in april/may.

October 2017 :  release of the album Nasty Factorz with Ari Hoenig (DTC records/Socadisc).Tour in Skandinavia and France. Composition residency supported by the French American Jazz Exchange.

January 2018 : participation to the French Quarter Festival in New York with Gaël Horellou/Ari Hoenig Quartet and the electronic duo Nasty Factorz. 4 concerts in the USA.

February 2018: release of the album Coup de vent featuring Jeremy Pelt (Fresh Sound New Talent).

June 2019 : release of the album Tous les Peuples (Breakz/Socadisc), tour in the Madagascar and France.

Photo credits: Babouk - Refined photography