The Itinerary
The Short Story
Franck Amsallem is an acclaimed international jazz pianist, playing, recording, and composing for over 40 years. A multi-talented musician, Franck is also much in demand as a composer/arranger, singer, and educator.
Franck has recorded ten CDs under his name and a major collaboration, "New York Stories," with Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, and Danny Gatton on Blue Note USA. While living in New York City, Franck played as a sideman with Gerry Mulligan, Charles Lloyd, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Chambers, Maria Schneider, Kevin Mahogany and Harry Belafonte as well as Gary Bartz, Bobby Watson, Rick Margitza, Tim Ries, and Blood Sweat and Tears.
Franck is the recipient of major awards (NEA composition fellowship, Great American Jazz Piano Competition, ASCAP award, Fondation de la Vocation, FACE cultural exchange) in both the U.S. and France.
In 1992 Franck released "Out a Day", an award-winning trio cd with Gary Peacock and Bill Stewart, praised by many jazz magazines all over the world. This recording established him as an in-demand jazz pianist in NYC, as well as a composer to watch. He has since played many of the most important festivals throughout Europe, including Pori, Molde, Red Sea, North Sea, Paris, Nice, Vienne, and Antibes/Juan-les-Pins.
As a composer, he has been commissioned by the WDR Jazz Orchestra, the National Jazz Orchestra of France (O.N.J.), and The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. His composition "Nuits" for string orchestra and jazz quartet has been performed many times with various soloists. Other commissions include "Place Du Temps" for chamber orchestra, "The Farewell" for the PRISM saxophone quartet and "Brooding" for solo piano (2013).
In 2009, Franck released "Amsallem Sings", showcasing his talents as a pianist-singer, featuring 12 songs from the Great American Songbook. "Franck Amsallem Sings Vol. II" followed, a trio opus recorded in Paris. Franck was recently part of "At Barloyd", a 9 cds boxset showcasing nine of the best French jazz pianists.
Released in Sep. 2019 on the jazz&people label, "Gotham Goodbye", a quartet featuring Cuban saxophonist Irving Acao, has garnered superb reviews all over the world.
En bref
Pianiste, compositeur et chanteur Franck Amsallem a enregistré 10 CDs sous son nom, passé vingt ans aux Etats Unis et accompagné Gerry Mulligan, Charles Lloyd, Joshua Redman, Kevin Mahogany, Maria Schneider et Harry Belafonte, ainsi que Gary Bartz, Bobby Watson, Rick Margitza, Tim Ries, et Blood Sweat and Tears.
En 1992 il remporte le 2e prix au Jacksonville Great American Jazz Piano Competition et publie son premier cd "Out a Day" avec Gary Peacock and Bill Stewart. Cet enregistrement très bien noté par la critique va l'établir comme l'un des pianistes qui compte à NYC, et comme un compositeur remarqué. Il s'est depuis produit sous son nom dans les plus grands festivals de jazz partout dans le monde.
Parallèlement il mène un carrière de compositeur pour big band, notamment avec le WDR, pour orchestre à cordes et orchestre de chambre, et pour divers solistes.
En 2002, Franck se réinstalle en France et enregistre "Summer Times", puis "A Week in Paris”.
Jazzman et Jazz Magazine saluent une nouvelle fois très chaudement ces opus. En parallèle, Franck joue régulièrement et enregistre avec des musiciens comme Tim Ries, Rick Margitza et Jerry Bergonzi et Kevin Mahogany, ainsi que les chanteuses Sara Lazarus et Mélanie Dahan.
Ces dernières années, le Pérou, le festival JazzaVienne, et des concerts en Israël, Hollande, Turquie, Lituanie, Algérie et en Amérique du Sud étaient au programme.
Deux cds vocaux "Amsallem Sings" et "Franck Amsallem Sings Vol. II" ont mis en valeur ses talents de pianiste-chanteur sur des mélodies du Great American Songbook.
En 2018, il fait partie du magnifique coffret de neuf cds "At Barloyd" regroupant les meilleurs pianistes de jazz français jouant en solo.
Son nouvel opus "Gotham Goodbye" est sorti en septembre 2019, un enregistrement de musique originale pour son nouveau quartet, mettant en lumière ses compositions interprétées par le saxophoniste cubain Irving Acao, sur le label jazz&people.
Discography
Gotham Goodbye : 2019
(Jazz&People) with Irving Acao - saxophone,
Viktor Nyberg - bass, Gautier Garrigue - drums
Franck Amsallem Sings Vol. II : 2014
(Fram) with Sylvain Romano - bass,
Karl Jannuska - drums
A Week In Paris : 2005
(Nocturne) with Elisabeth Kontomanou - vocals,
Stephane Belmondo - trumpet
On Second Thought : 2000
(Naive) with Marc Miralta - drums,
Johannes Weidenmüller - bass, Tim Ries - saxophone
Years Gone By : 1998
(Challenge) with Daniel Humair - drums,
Riccardo Del Fra - bass, Tim Ries - saxophone
Regards : 1993
(Freelance) with Tim Ries - saxophone,
Scott Colley - bass, Bill Stewart - drums
New York Stories : 1993
(Blue Note) with Danny Gatton - guitar, Bobby Watson & Joshua Redman - saxophones, and Roy Hargrove - trumpet
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