René Urtreger


René Urtreger is a French bebop pianist.

Early life

Urtreger was born in Paris and began his piano studies at the age of four, studying privately first, and then at the Conservatory. He studied with an orientation toward jazz, playing in a small Parisian club, the Sully d' Auteuil. Conducted by Hubert Damisch, the Sully boasted an orchestra of talented students including Sacha Distel and Louis Viale. In 1953, Urtreger won first prize in a piano contest for amateurs, and from that moment decided to be a professional musician.

Later life and career

In a Parisian concert in 1954, he accompanied two great American expatriates: saxophonist Don Byas and trumpeter Buck Clayton. Their collaboration in the "Salon du Jazz" became one of the most highly requested French performances by the American musicians that toured the French capital.
After serving in the military from 1955 to 1957, Urtreger would play in a club on the left bank of the Seine, the famous Club Saint-Germain. Again he collaborated with two jazz masters: Miles Davis and Lester Young. His work so impressed the latter that Urteger accompanied Young for a short tour of Europe in 1956. In December 1957, he was part of Davis's group which recorded the soundtrack to the film Ascenseur pour l'échafaud .
In the late 1950s he worked with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and Ben Webster among others. Shortly thereafter, he broadened his focus to accompany other artists of other genres, largely due to financial necessity. His canon of jazz work is still widely regarded as sensitive with a full, dense sound of swing. The Academie du Jazz of France formally recognized his accomplishments in 1961 with the Prix Django Reinhardt for outstanding jazz artist of the year.
He subsequently provided soundtracks for films by Claude Berri among others.
In 1977, he reappeared on the Paris jazz scene with the intention to resume his career. His renaissance was as a small-ensemble accompanist, with Lee Konitz, Aldo Romano or Barney Wilen. His 1980 performance at the Antibes Jazz Festival was an important performance of his later career. He was also featured at "Le Jazz Cool, Le Jazz Hot: A Celebration of Modern Jazz in Los Angeles and France" at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
In an interview, Urtreger said "Jazz is supposed to be a music of improvisation, of madness".

Awards

As leader

With Chet Baker
  • Brussels 1964
  • Chet Baker and His Quintet with Bobby Jaspar
  • Chet Baker in Paris 1955-1956
  • Chet Baker, Rene Urtreger, Aldo Romano, Pierre Michelot
With Miles Davis
With Claude Francois
  • A L'Olympia
  • J'y Pense et Puis J'oublie
  • Une Petite Larme M'a Trahi
With Stan Getz
  • With European Friends
  • In Paris 1958-1959
  • Pennies from Heaven
  • Sweetie Pie
With Lester Young
  • Le Dernier Message de Lester Young
  • Lester Young in Paris
  • Prez in Europe
With others