Eve Risser (born 1982) is a French jazz and improvised music performer, composer and arranger. She mostly plays piano and prepared piano, but also plays harpsichord and other instruments.

Eve Risser
Risser in 2018
Risser in 2018
Background information
Born1982 (age 41–42)
Colmar, France
GenresJazz, improvised music
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger
Instrument(s)Piano, harpsichord
Years active2000s–present
Websiteeverisser.com

Life and career

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Risser was born in 1982[1] in Colmar, France.[2] She had piano lessons as a child and first saw graphic notation at the age of 11.[3] This "set her imagination free. But those desires were quashed by her instructor, who situated that sort of interpretational freedom within a larger, rigorous practice of study."[3]

Risser lived in Colmar until she was 18.[2] She then studied in Strasbourg for four years, playing improvised music and jazz on the piano and contemporary music on the flute.[2] She decided to concentrate on the piano after completing her studies.[3] She reported that "When I stopped the flute, I felt so limited in my improvisations with timbres that I started to explore the inside of the piano to be able to imitate trumpets, percussions and saxophones [...] I realized that building stuff with my hands for the piano was super fun."[3]

Risser was pianist in the Orchestre national de jazz from 2009 to 2013.[2] The premiere of her White Desert, for a tentet with amateur choirs, was in March 2015.[4]

Playing style

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A reviewer described her playing on the 2012 trio album En Corps as being "anything but conventional, highly percussive, full of muted strings, extended techniques, and repetitive phrases".[5] A Down Beat reviewer of her solo piano record Des Pas Sur La Neige commented on Risser's "arsenal of techniques and tools that transform her instrument into a kaleidoscopic sound machine, producing unexpected tones and timbres."[3]

Discography

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An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

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Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
2007* Ouature Umlaut As Donkey Monkey; duo, with Yuko Oshima (drums, vocals, samples)
2010 Split Umlaut Duo, with Joris Rühl (clarinet); released with recordings by OBLIQ (2) and Christof Kurzmann
2011* Fenêtre Ovale Umlaut Duo, with Joris Rühl (clarinets)
2011* Hanakana Umlaut As Donkey Monkey; duo, with Yuko Oshima (drums, vocals, samples)
2012* En Corps Dark Tree Trio, with Benjamin Duboc (bass), Edward Perraud (drums)
2012* A Nest at the Junction of Paths Umlaut As The New Songs; quartet, with Sofia Jernberg (vocals), David Stackenäs (guitar), Kim Myhr (guitars, zither)
2013 Des Pas Sur La Neige Clean Feed Solo piano

As sidewoman

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Year recorded Leader Title Label
2009* Orchestre national de jazz Around Robert Wyatt Bee Jazz
2010* Orchestre national de jazz Shut up and Dance Bee Jazz
2011* PAK Secret Curve Tzadik
2012* Orchestre national de jazz Piazzolla! Jazz Village
2013* Orchestre national de jazz The Party! Jazz Village
2013* Pascal Niggenkemper Lucky Prime Clean Feed
2014* Jean-Jacques Birgé Game Bling

References

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  1. ^ "Moment Festival – Festival" Archived 2015-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. Vi Musiker. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Scotney, Sebastian (8 March 2015) "Interview: Eve Risser (Banlieues Bleues, Jazzahead, Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin) / #IWD2015" Archived 2015-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. London Jazz News.
  3. ^ a b c d e Margasak, Peter (March 2015) "Risser's Prepared Piano Work Defies Categorization". Down Beat. p. 16.
  4. ^ Scotney, Sebastian (25 March 2015) "Review: Eve Risser White Desert Premiere at La Courneuve" Archived 2015-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. London Jazz News.
  5. ^ Stef (24 September 2012) "Eve Risser – En Corps (Dark Tree, 2012)". freejazzblog.