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13 Apr

Olivier Temime Interview

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Olivier Temime, is the new star of French jazz. The ten-year collaboration with saxophonist J. Griffin and other great jazzmen, such as Wynton Marsalis and Michel Grailler were decisive for his carreer. He came for the first time in Athens last winter for one night concert at the French institute with JP Gallis, Michel Zenino and George Kontrafouris.He came back in April for a tour in Crete and Lesvos with G. Kontrafouris, Yotis Samaras and Vassilis Podaras. Jazzonline met him for a quick interview.

– A word about Greek jazz musicians you know.
I came to Athens in 2010. I met and played with George Kontrafouris. I was impressed, he is such an amazing musician, and it was great to play with him again. This time, I met Yiotis Samaras, an old friend of George. Yiotis is a great musician. What a pleasure to play with these two fellows, always ready to respond and take you further in your solo! And I played also with Vassilis, the young drummer of Baby Trio: very promising, with excellent technique and a lots of energy…

– What are your plans for the next month ?
Many concerts with various groups and the Volunteered Slaves, and of course the recording of my next album

– What led you to jazz?
My father was an amateur trumpet player and big fan of jazz. My aunt was a pianist and singer. They had great influence on me. They were taking me to concerts very often. And then I contracted the jazz virus !…

– which jazz musicians, influenced you and why?
Many musicians have influenced me.:John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Monk, Parker … But I had the chance very early in my career to share the stage with big names like Steve Grossman, and Wynton Marsalis, with whom I played many times in Marciac festival and Johnny Griffin, with whom I played for 10 years. Everything about him influenced me a lot: his generosity, his enthusiasm, his humor and of course his sound.

– What do you think is your biggest achievement and success as a musician?
Difficult to answer. I am professional musician for 20 years now – I’m very proud of the 4 albums that I recorded as a leader – the last “The Intruder” with Billy Hart, Paco Sery, Cyril Atef and Vincent Artaud was released in 2010. But I think my greatest achievement is that I could play and work with great musicians.

Interview by Patricia Graire – April 2011 –


Last modified on Thursday, 10 October 2013 08:09
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