Joëlle Léandre basse continue
Christine Baudillon
2008 - 140 min - Mini DV - Couleur - France

Joëlle Léandre, contrabassist, improviser and composer, is one of important figures of the free improvisation. Formed in the music of orchestra and the contemporary music, she plays several years within the groups "Itinéraire", "2e2m" and "the Intercontemporary" of Pierre Boulez.
Then the meeting with Merce Cunningham and John Cage is determining. A sentence of Cage accompanies her forever: "Let sounds be what they are". This last one as well as around thirty composers such as Scelsi, Fénelon, Jolas Campana, Castiglioni, Clémenti, Giraud, Ronchetti or de Chizy compose for her.
Besides the contemporary music, Léandre "the guérieuse farmer of the sound" crosses roads and converses with the big names of the jazz and the improvisation, such as Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Carlos Zingaro or John Zorn.
We find her here with Fred Frith, Lauren Newton, Akosh. S, India Cooke, Barre Phillips, Daunik Lazro, Olivier Benoit, Jean-Luc Cappozzo, Lori Freedman, Simon Goubert, Georges Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Jean-Claude Jones, Steve Horenstein, Daniel Sarid, Assif Tsahar, Ariel Shibolet, Haggai Fertshman, Albert Beger and Sameer Makhoul Palestinian composer and player of oud.