Standards

French guitarist Sylvain Luc has honed his jazz improvisations since the 1980s, when he first discovered jazz as a teenager. He studied at the prestigious Academy de Bayonne as a child, mastering the guitar, cello, violin, and mandolin, but jazz shed a different light on Luc's musical ambitions. He spent time with the Bubble Quartet, discovering an appreciation for South African music in his twenties. Luc combined his love for jazz with worldbeat sounds and carved a career for himself. He issued his first album, Duet, in 2000. Sud followed shortly thereafter. A third album, Trio Sud, was issued in spring 2002 and featured collaborations with Jean-Marc Jafet and Andre Ceccarelli. As his contacts multiplied, Luc worked with some of the greatest musicians on the scene, including Wynton Marsalis, Steve Gadd, Lokua Kanza, Michel Legrand, Elvin Jones, Dee Dee Brigewater, Manu Katché, Stéphane Belmondo, Michel Portal, Bobby Thomas Jr., Andy Sheppard, Alain Caron, Bernard Lubat, Steve Lukather, Keyvan Chémirani, Victor Bailey, Larry Coyrell, Al Di Meola, Didier Lockwood, John Mc Laughlin, Billy Cobham, Richard Bona... In 2008, Luc won the “Django d’Or” music award for his achievements and played in the “String Quartet” band with Didier Lockwood, Victor Bailey and Billy Cobham. Luc's schedule for 2009 includes solo concerts, concerts in duet with Biréli Lagrène, Médéric Collignon and Philip Catherine and in trio with Trio Sud. Also on the program are projects like “All Stars” with Richard Bona and Steve Gadd and “Nomad’s Land” with Didier Lockwood, Ira Coleman, Bijan and Keyvan Chémirani. Recently, Sylvain was invited by Michel Legrand to play at his 50-year jubilee concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris.