André Hodeir

André Hodeir (January 22, 1921 – November 1, 2011 ) was a French violinist, composer, arranger and musicologist.

Biography
André Hodeir was born in Paris. His initial training was as a classical violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he took Olivier Messiaen's analysis class, and won first prizes in fugue, harmony, and music history. While pursuing these studies, he discovered jazz, and embarked on an exploration of all music forms, jazz as well as classical. Subsequently as a critic he expressed vigorous disgust with nearly all early jazz (Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence; 1957).

Hodeir was a founder, in 1954, and director of Jazz Groupe de Paris, made up of nine musicians, including Bobby Jaspar, Pierre Michelot and Nat Peck. He was the author of two books of Essais (1954 and 1956), of numerous film scores, including Le Palais Idéal by Ado Kyrou, the Jazz Cantata for the film Chutes de pierres, danger de mort by Michel Fano, etc. Hodeir was the founder of his own orchestra during the Sixties (Catalyse, Arte della commedia dell', Transplantation, Crepuscule with Nelly, etc., available in an album by Martial Solal, in 1984). He composed, in 1966, the monumental jazz cantata Anna Livia Plurabelle, on James Joyce's text, and in 1972 of Bitter Ending, by The Swingle Singers and a jazz quintet, on the final monologue of Finnegans Wake.

Discography

 * 1954 : The Vogue Sessions (BMG, R/1999)
 * 1956 : Le Jazz Groupe de Paris joue André Hodeir (coll. Jazz in Paris, Universal, R/2001)
 * 1957 : The Alphabet et autres essais (not available on CD)
 * 1959 : Kenny Clarke's Sextet joue André Hodeir (coll. Jazz in Paris, Universal, R/2002)
 * 1960 : Jazz et jazz (coll. Jazz in Paris, Universal, R/2004)
 * 1966 : Anna Livia Plurabelle (second version Patrice Caratini in 1994, Label Bleu)
 * 1972 : Bitter Ending (not available on CD)
 * 1984 : Martial Solal et son orchestre jouent André Hodeir (Carlyne Music, 1984)