The Collective
[EN] Paris Jazz Underground is a collective of jazz musicians based in the French capital. Sharing a common aesthetic, these autonomous musicians aim at exposing their music to a wider audience through their combined endeavor. Paris Jazz Underground is David Prez, Sandro Zerafa, Karl Jannuska, Romain Pilon, Olivier Zanot and Yoni Zelnik.
—
[FR] Paris Jazz Underground est un collectif de musiciens de jazz basé dans la capitale française. Partageant une esthétique commune, ces musiciens indépendants se rassemblent et combinent leurs efforts dans le but d’exposer leur musique à une audience plus large. Paris Jazz Underground est composé de David Prez, Sandro Zerafa, Karl Jannuska, Romain Pilon, Olivier Zanot et Yoni Zelnik.
The Musicians
Romain Pilon (guitar)
Romain studied at Berklee, Boston and is the co-leader of the Prez/ Pilon Group with whom he recorded two critically acclaimed albums.
He has played with musicians such as Charlier/Sourisse, Baptiste Trotignon, Christian Scott, Esperanza Spalding, Fredrika Stahl, Alex Sipiagin, Walter Smith III… His first trio album, “NY3″ featuring Matt Brewer and Colin Stranahan, recorded in New York, is to be released in January 2012.
“Romain Pilon is a guitarist full of surprises. He has a flawless technique and a great harmonic sense. He is someone to keep an eye on.” (Lionel Loueke)
David Prez (saxophone)
Saxophonist & composer David Prez studied at the Conservatory of Lyon, France and in the USA and with David Liebman & Michael Brecker. He has recorded 4 albums as a leader with the his own groups and also with the “Prez/Pilon Group” and played with musicians such as Bill Stewart, Johannes Weidenmueller, Laurent Coq, David Doruzka, Pierre de Bethman, François Moutin, Franck Amsallem as well as in numerous scenes and festivals such as Jazz à Vienne, Le Printemps de Bourges, Malta Jazz Festival, L’Olympia, Radio France, Bancko Jazz Festival (Bulgaria), Trova Festival (Cuba), Deer Head Inn (USA), Cargo (UK), Mercati Generali (IT), Beyrouth Jazz Festival (Lebanon), Rio de Janeiro, Recife & Itajai Festival (Brazil)…
“David Prez’s playing is fluent and swinging. His sound is…exquisite! And he writes great tunes as well.” (saxophone legend, Michael Brecker)
Sandro Zerafa (guitar)
Sandro Zerafa is a Maltese guitarist based in France. After graduating from the University of Malta and the Lyons Conservatory he moved to Paris in 2000. Sandro has collaborated with numerous artists in a variety of styles, including Chico Buarque, Manu Katché, Laurent Coq, Nico Gori… etc. He has released two critically acclaimed albums as a leader and collaborated on 9 releases as a sideman. He can be heard with the Nico Gori ‘European 4tet’, Robin Nicaise 5tet, Matthieu Marthouret Organ 4tet, Jiji amongst others. He has toured Italy, France, Brazil, S.Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta. Sandro Zerafa is artistic director of the Malta Jazz Festival since 2009.
Karl Jannuska (drums)
Karl began drumming at the age of seven in his home province of Manitoba, Canada. After completing a degree in Jazz Performance from McGill University Karl spent nine months in New York studying drums with Tom Rainey. With a move to Paris in 2001 Karl quickly became one of the most in-demand drummers on the french scene. He has appeared on over sixty recordings and has recorded and/or performed with musicians including Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Brad Mehldau, Dave Binney, Mark Turner and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Karl’s first cd received an Opus award for Jazz and World Music Record of the Year. He has received a CBC Etoiles Galaxie prize for most original composition from the Montreal jazz festival and in 2010 Karl was a runner-up in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition.
Olivier Zanot (saxophone)
After studying musicology in Nice, he moved to Paris and graduated from the National Conservatory of music in 1998. He has played and/or recorded with various jazz artists such as Laurent Coq, David El-Malek, Laurence Allison, Karl Jannuska, Sandro Zerafa, Yoann Loustalot, Fabien Mary, Pierre Christophe, Sophie Alour, David Doruzka, Laika Fatien, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stan Lafferiere, Gérard Badini, Franck Amsallem, Nicolas Dary, Sylvain Beuf…
He has toured France (Juan-les-Pins jazz festival, Olympia… ), Portugal, England, Czech Republic, Japan (Tokyo jazz festival), Malta.
Yoni Zelnik (double bass)
Born in Israel in 1975, Yoni began music by playing bass guitar in a rock band with his teenager friend. Later, he discovered jazz and moved to Paris in 1995 to study the double bass at the CIM and the 15th district conservatory in Paris. He has recorded about 30 records as a sideman and has performed in about 40 countries. He has collaborated with Sophie Alour, Billy Hart, David Doruzka, Youn Sun Nah, Laurent Coq and Sam Sadigursky amongst others. He can be heard with the Geraldine Laurent quartet, Sandro Zerafa quartet, Robin Nicaise 5tet, Frank Woeste trio, David Prez quartet…