Pianist, composer, arranger, teacher
A catalyst of enthusiasms and initiator of musical meetings, an arranger with a passion for improvisation, spontaneous instrumentation and techniques of sound creation, Andy Emler is a man of invention.
Early training in composition at the Paris CNSM (winning first prize for counterpoint) and performances in local dances (rock/pop) were followed by a large variety of projects with the likes of Antoine Hervé, Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Woody Shaw and Trilok Gurtu.
An educationalist by inclination, inspired by the centuries-old tradition of passing down desire and pleasure from one generation to the next, and a prolific composer (ONJ 1986, La Bande A Badault, WDR Big Band…), Emler is equally at ease in line-ups of all sizes.
In 1990 he created his own personal laboratory, the MegaOctet, with eight of the most flamboyant improvisers of the Eighties generation, and was awarded the prestigious Django D’Or prize for best French jazz ensemble in 1992. This band had a huge influence on the early 1990s jazz scene.
From 1994 to 99 he was co-director of the Marne region’s Scène de Création Musicale, and participated in the collective adventure of POM, a big band of variable proportions.
In 2000 he put together a new incarnation of his MegaOctet, and in June 2003 began a stint as composer in residence at Vincennes ‘ Espace Daniel Sorano with his own Compagnie Aime L’Air. There he premiered “Pop Music 2000”, a project combining the MegaOctet with two dancers and video projections.
Meanwhile he kept performing in various contexts – a duo with Philippe Sellam, two trios with Denis Badault and Emmanuel Bex and with Claude Tchamitchian and Eric Echampard, a quartet (4/4 cm3) with Sellam, Linley Marthe and Francis Lassus – not forgetting his regular collaboration with Ars Nova and Pascal Contet in the field of contemporary music, and of course the MegaOctet.
He is highly in-demand as a composer, having been commissioned original works by a number of ensembles, often consisting of both amateur and professional musicians.
In November 2003 he released “Tee Time” with the Emler-Tchamitchian-Echampard trio, to excellent press reception (“Disque d’Emoi” – Jazz Magazine, **** – Jazzman) and “Bouts De Souffles”, a collaboration with Pascal Contet. In September 2004, his Compagnie Aime L’Air began a three-year residence at L’Apostrophe in Cergy-Pontoise (Scène Nationale du Val-d’Oise).
Meanwhile, both the MégaOctet and the trio have kept busy with numerous performances in France , Switzerland , etc. In 2005, Emler débuted a collaboration between the MegaOctet and Michel Portal at the Jazz Au Fil de l’Oise festival.
In March 2006, the trio released its second effort “A Quelle Distance Sommes-Nous ?”, to even greater acclaim (“ffff” – Télérama, “Disque d’Emoi” – Jazz Magazine). That same year Andy Emler was awarded the Sacem’s Django d’Or for best new production.
Forthcoming projects include a new MegaOctet album slated for release in March 2007, and the premiere of “Childhood Journeys”, a commission for the MegaOctet with the Percussions de Strasbourg.