Homage to Maurice Merle

Maurice Merle Arfi

Plex - alto saxophone version

arfi jean-francois charles maurice merle

On May 6th, 2004, with numerous friends of Arfi's (Association à la Recherche d'un Folklore Imaginaire) and Maurice Merle's, we met together at in Lyon, France, in Théâtre des Jeunes Années for the night "Le Souffle Continue." Philippe Gilbert (sax) and myself (live electronics) played Plex, and I dedicated this version with alto sax to Maurice Merle. Here is the recording:

Short biography

arfi maurice merle

Maurice Merle was born on April 27th, 1945 in Le Puy, France. He graduated from a business school, and became a saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He creates in 1968 the Free Jazz Workshop with Jean Mereu, Jean Bolcato, and Pierre Guyon. With Christian Rollet, he is at the origin of La Carrérarie, a company of Musical Theater for Children. Since 1972, he has created numerous shows, from l'Opéra Jubjub to Prismo, along with Steve Waring and Alain Gibert.

In 1977, he is among the founders of Arfi, and has played in the most important projects of this collective. With the Workshop de Lyon and the Marmite Infernale, he has toured South America, Europe, Northern and Eastern Africa, and Middle East. He has taken part in the projects around movies, including Potemkine, Tarzan, Paris' Girls, and Tragédie au Cirque.

During 3 years, he has been the president of the National Collective of Jazz and Improvised Music Organizations (CNAJMI). As a composer and arranger, he registered 164 works at the French society for composers, the SACEM. Maurice Merle passed away on April 2nd, 2003.

Thank you for leaving comments if you know precisions/corrections to this biography.
Read also the biographies of all the musicians members of the "collectif arfi."

Le Souffle continue

Philippe Gilbert is a great saxophone player, and has been my jazz teacher during 2 years. He is not only a serious jazzman, but also a fun artist. Check for instance Les gars de la marine or La grosse couture!

arfi jean-francois charles marmite infernale

Look for us on the picture! For the Grand final of the night, I played the basset-horn. Philippe Gilbert played alto sax.This picture was taken by Mikiko, a fan of Louis Sclavis's, who runs the website Le site de Louis Sclavis. Don't forget that Louis Sclavis spent an important time with the Arfi musicians, before the beginning of his solo carrier.

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