BERTRAND Jean-claude's Page

most of my work is devoted to the music of improvisation and more specifically to jazz.

I define myself as a pictorial improviser :
http://www.jazzpainting.com/site-videos.php
I work in different ways :
- Either I improvise by listening to a CD or live with one or more musicians.... I paint as I feel, in a very intuitive way, very feline, very animal without having an "intellectual" reflexion at start... I wish I remain a virgin and not doing the "illustration" of a music.
I try to transcribe a synthesis of the musical work that brought me to this improvisation, and also allow the reader to of my painting to find various emotions listening to this music, through "liberty paths" that offer materials, textures, colors and graphics of my canvas.
- Or I create to propose a work in one or more parties to musicians, to decipher according to their sensitivity (as did Archie Shepp in the middle of my "musicogrammes").
But it is quite possible to interact between the musician and me... a jampainting session in a way.
Any performance will take place preferably in an exhibition presenting my pictural researches on music improvisation... in galleries, in specific places, in business... or during festivals.

Besides, I would want to mix various disciplines : painting, music, dance, poetry (or singing)...
So ideas..... to share a day perhaps!


A visit to my website http://www.jazzpainting.com will give you an overview of my research and experience .... with, among others, the performance of Archie Shepp, one of the last living legends of free jazz, which has improvised on my "musicogrammes" (works to be performed by musicians) at the opening of an exhibition that I made in Saint Louis (Alsace /FRANCE) in 2002 http://www.jazzpainting.com/archie_shepp_musico_expo.php ... creating a window for the musical school in the same city ... the creation of several visual (posters and scenes background) for jazz festivals ...
In the summer of 2001, I made a conference about " Musical improvisation, when the pictorial space meets the musical space"

On July 17th, I conducted a performance with the sit-guitarist Marc Liebeskind of Geneva and the tablaist Nabankur Bhatthacharia which will be available soon on DVD.

On September 6th, a great Mr jazz, Francois Jeanneau (which was the 1st director of the National Jazz Orchestra, and passionate sound painting), came to inaugurate my new workshop.
And... October 9th, a team of television (FR3 Aquitaine) came to shoot and to interview me in my workshop for a broadcast.
Tomorrow .... for you or with you a new experience, a new performance !