Swiss-born French jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz is all set to regale Bahrain with a jazz that has brawn, soul and plenty of wide open space.

The European jazz scene is shifting to Bahrain this month, courtesy Alliance Française.
Known for its teaching of French as well as the French Cultural Centre, it has a biggie on its hands this month — Swiss-born French jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz.

He is known for infusing elements of hip hop, rock and roll and dance music into his compositions. Since the mid-‘90s, Truffaz has been a mover and shaker on the European creative scene.

He is touring India, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Kuwait with Sufi singer Mounir Troudi and drummer Philippe Garcia. The concert will offer the audience an intelligent, uncompromising music, played by musicians with fertile imaginations and the courage of their convictions.

Truffaz gained international attention with his second album on Blue Note, The Dawn, produced together with Pat Muller, Marcello Giuliani and Mark Erbetta. Since then they have produced many Blue Note albums together.

The musician was inspired to play by his saxophonist father who led a dance band. He took up the trumpet as a youngster and joined his father on the bandstand. He went on to study music at the Geneva Conservatoire in Switzerland where he learned to perform classical works by the likes of Mozart and Verdi.

In addition to playing in the Orchestre de Suisse Romande, Truffaz played in cover bands while also writing his own jazz-infused music. In 1990 he formed a jazz band called Orange and the following year won France’s prestigious jazz award, the Prix Special.

Since the mid ‘90s, Truffaz has been an important presence on the European creative improvisational scene.

The trumpeter has been likened to Miles Davis while other critics compare his work to those of Brian Eno. Mantis, which featured guitarist Manu Codjia and guests Anouar Brahem on oud and Mounir Troudi on vocals, scored big points with open-eared jazz critics.

Truffaz has explained that he continues to grow as a musician, taking lessons from the jazz and pop past and looking ahead to create new music. He said, “I’m not trying to be this or that. I just try to be myself, taking inspiration from the things I love.”

In the next step of his evolution as a pioneering jazz figure, he continues his exploration of modern dance rhythms through drum ‘n’ bass and hip hop as well as gripping rock ‘n’ roll with his quartet on The Walk of the Giant Turtle.

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