Matthieu Bordenave

Matthieu Bordenave is a French saxophonist and clarinetist, currently based in Munich, Germany. Born in 1983 in the south of France, he began his musical studies with classical saxophonist Christian Charnay and with Thierry Girault (jazz) in Annecy, before moving to Paris at the age of 17, where he continued to work with André Villéger. He entered the National Conservatory of Music (CNSM), where he studied in the jazz and improvised music department. His workshop teachers in Paris were Chris Potter, Louis Sclavis, Paolo Fresu, Marc Johnson and the bassists-clarinetists Jean-Marc Volta and Philippe-Olivier Deveaux. His musical trainingcontinued at the Musikhochschule in Munich, where he earned a Master of Music degree and received the DAAD award during his studies.

He has played with some of the greatest musicians, including Lee Konitz, Rudi Mahall, Yaron Herman, Henning Sieverts, Florian Weber, Shinya Fukumori, Peter O'Mara and Geoff Goodman.

On Enja Records, he released two albums with his trio Le Café Bleu International as well as in quartet with Terre de Sienne. He also recorded an album with American guitarist Geoff Goodman: Inverted Forest on Doublemoon Records. In 2018, he made his debut on the legendary ECM Records label with the Shinya Fukumori Trio. His debut leader album La traversée (2020) on ECM Records received rave reviews. His new album on ECM Records is scheduled for release in the fall of 2023.

Photo credit: Adrian Schätz