Joëlle Léandre

One of Europe’s most gifted and versatile bass players, Joëlle Léandre is equally at home performing scores by avant-garde composers such as Giacinto Scelsi, or playing total improvisation with artists such as Maggie Nicols and Irène Schweizer. After studying at the Conservatoire in Paris, she played with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain. Her 1981 debut album was followed by the completely improvised recording, with Nicols and Lindsay Cooper. In 1983, Léandre joined Schweizer’s European Women’s Improvising Group. During the 90s, Léandre recorded prolifically for a number of labels, notably a series of collaborative dates for Leo Records, and by the '00s she had added teaching to her list of accomplishments