Jean-Paul plays saxophones, clarinets, and recorders. Always curious about different instruments, he occasionally picks up the electric bass, tenor banjo, or guitar.
Improvisation, sound exploration, and musical encounters with other human beings are at the core of his artistic approach.
His immersion in music runs so deep that, while practicing his circular breathing technique, he once fell asleep—only to be awakened by his own sound.
It all began in primary school with the recorder. Eager to learn, he pursued every possible avenue: the conservatory (clarinet and double bass), workshops (guitar with C. Escoudé and J. Panisset, bass with B. Phillips and J.F. Jenny-Clark), and self-teaching (guitar, violin, mandolin, tenor banjo, electric bass, and saxophones).
At ARFI, he currently performs with La Marmite Infernale, L’Effet Vapeur, the Workshop de Lyon, and Bululú. In the past, he was a member of groups including the Trio Apollo, Arfolia Libra, Potemkine, La Bête à Bon Dos, Samedi 14, and the Babel Orkestra.
It would be futile to attempt an exhaustive list of his past and present collaborations and ensembles, but here are a few: Musica Brass (street performance), Fanfarélà (Théâtre de la Cheminée – young audiences), Artrio (musical juggling show with C. Rizzo and J. Thomas), S. Waring Quintet (children’s songs), Nuit Noire de Monde (songs with Michèle Bernard), Le Livre des Traditions (contemporary music with H. Fourès and L. Ferrari), SMAC (a Franco-Swiss quartet), La Ville qui n’Existait Pas (Christin/Bilal – comic book concert), Nadja (bass clarinet sextet with music by G. Grenard), and L’Otite Orphéonique (a small carnival orchestra).