Philippe Lemoine

Philippe Lemoine, born 1970, is a french tenor saxophone player, based in Berlin (Germany) and Marseille (France). He is active in Contemporary Jazz and Improvised Music since the early 90’s. He is exploring the expressive capacities of his saxophone, developing his own languages, with a wide vocabulary of dynamics, pitches, densities and speeds, pushing the acoustic limits of the instrument. In abstract improvisation contexts (Ensembles Squid Lux, Via Lucis Trio, Le Grand 8, duos with Simon Rose -baritone saxophone-, with Yorgos Dimitriadis -Drums-, with Wolfgang Seidel -synthesizers-, with avec Klaus Kürvers -doublebasse-), he use the saxophone as a generator of frequencies, a mechanism made of wood and metal to play with air and water, in a sound universe close to the electro-acoustic music. In Contemporary Jazz contexts (Quartets -ION, Philadelphie), he uses his mastery of saxophone’s sound and his proactive force to serve the sound of the ensemble. His fresh, winding and atonal phrasing, browses an almost four octaves range, included extended techniques like multiphonics, circular breathing, and voice/sound mixing. With the program " Mélodramatic French Songs" by the trio "Le Maigre feu de La nonne en Hiver", Philippe Lemoine plays like a singer, phrasing with care in order to stand as close as possible to a human voice singing words, looking for the exact intention of each note. As a soloist, Philippe Lemoine uses all those aspects of his strong personality, in a expressive, generous and challenging narrrative. He was the leader of septet ‘Kassalit,’ which was awarded ‘best band’ and ‘best composition’ at La Défense Jazz Contest in 1997. From 2002 to 2005 he performed and toured internationally with the Orchestre National de Jazz under the direction of Claude Barthelemy. Playing a role in the underground arts scene in Europe, Lemoine has also been involved with numerous other collectives and collaborative bands in his home country, such as Circum Grand Orchestra, in Lille or “à plusieurs” in Argenteuil, and leaded and composed for his own quartet «Le Talent de La Colère».