©
Edouard Janssens
With the unavoidable influences of Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, pianist-composer Ivan Paduart has forged the individual sound and style which has earned recognition and appreciation from players like Richard Galliano, Tom Harrell, Toots Thielemans, Didier Lockwood, Philip Catherine, Claude Nougaro, Bob Malach, Charlie Mariano, Peter King, Nigel Hitchcock, Tim Armacost, Toon Roos, Gino Lattuca, Rick Margitza, Deborah Brown... and everyone else he has made music with over the years.
Ivan began conventional piano lessons at the age of 10, made his first attempts at improvisation on trumpet a little
later, and discovered jazz when he was 17.
A masterclass with Michel Herr (then pianist with Toots Thielemans) convinced him to pursue jazz full-time and. in
1988, after six months at Antwerp¹s jazz studio, and one year at Rotterdam's Royal Conservatory (where he studied
with Rob Van Kreeveld), he joined the groups of American guitarist John Thomas, Italian trumpet player Gino Lattuca
and Belgian trombone player Phil Abraham.
Work with Abraham earned him 2nd prize at 1989's "International Jazz Competition at La Défense" in Paris, and he
ok 1st prize at "Brussels' Jazz-Rallye" the same year with Lattuca¹s band. That same year, with friends Vincent
Mardens on saxophone, Patrick Deltenre on guitar, Benoît Vanderstraeten on bass and Mimi Verderame on drums,
Ivan formed the quintet ³Aftertouch², to play original fusion music.
From 1990 to 1992 he toured Belgium, Germany and France with his own group, France with Brasilian singer Marcia Maria, and enjoyed the experience of playing support for Bill Evans, Didier Lockwood, Hermeto Pascoal, Mike Stern, and many others.
1992 saw the release of "Turquoise" (B-Sharp Records), with Patrick Deltenre guitar ; Peter Vandendriessche sax ; François Garny bass ; and Mimi Verderame drums, featuring mostly Paduart originals.
"Illusions Sensorielles" (Igloo) followed, using Ivan¹s own compositional mix of straight-ahead jazz and lyrical impressionism spiced with latin influence. For this project, the trio of Paduart, Philippe Aerts (bass) and Bruno Castellucci (drums), was augmented by guest appearances from Chris Joris on percussion, guitarist Patrick Deltenre, and the Piazzola protégé, jazz accordionist Richard Galliano.
This repertoire earned him the 1993 Nicolas Dor prize for composition at the International Jazz Festival of Liège
Also in 1993, he toured France on keyboards for singer Claude Nougaro (with Maurice Vander - piano; Jean-Marie
Ecay guitar; Laurent Vernerey bass; Loïc Ponthieux drums), and recorded a fourth album.
"Time Gone By" (AMC) features the Illusions Sensorielle trio of Paduart, Aerts and Castelucci, with the plangent trumpet and flugelhorn of Tom Harrell, and with guitarist Jean-Marie Ecay guesting on 3 songs. "Folies Douces" (Igloo, 1994) represented a return to that special project with jazz accordionist Richard Galliano, Patrick Deltenre & co, with a suite of compositions inspired by the same muse as ³Illusions Sensorielle².
In 1995, after tours of Italy and Canada, Ivan began a two year international stint with Toots Thielemans - and invited him to participate on the song ³Ecoline² for the next album. The CD ³White Nights² (Challenge Records) also features Bob Malach and Philip Catherine as special guests.
From 1996 onwards, the focus becomes almost exclusively the trio format with Hans Van Oosterhout as regular drummer and a variety of different bass-players - although it would be Nicolas Thys who completed the trio for the CD ³Clair Obscur² (Challenge Records) Paduart¹s tribute to one of his favourite inspirational pianists and composers, Fred Hersch.
In 1998, after touring with him for three weeks, Ivan records "Belgian Suites" (Challenge records), with Bob Malach. The rhythm section on this CD includes Van Oosterhout on drums and Hein Van De Geyn on bass, although Stefan Lievestro would replace him for the trio which toured France, Denmark and Portugal in 1999.
Belgian promoter Christian Debaere next invited Ivan to contribute arrangements for a special Belgian septet which added Steve Houben (alto), Jean-Pierre Catoul (violin) and Peter Hertmans (guitar) to a rhythm section partnering the keyboards of Nathalie Loriers with Paduart, Lievestro and Van Oosterhout.
For the album "True Stories" (Igloo) special international guest Charlie Mariano replaced Houben, and it was this
band which toured Belgium during 2000 until the tragic death of violinist Jean-Pierre Catoul in a January 2001 car
crash.
From this point, Ivan focused back on trio , releasing ³Trio Live² (Omnivore/Virgin) in October 2001, and touring
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium with special guest
Rick Margitza, the last sax player with Miles Davis.
In 2002, Ivan will be working with Rick Margitza, with UK prodigy Nigel Hitchcock, with Tim Armacost, with Toon Roos,
with Fay Claassen and has dates in the US with ³the American Trio² featuring Bob Bowman and Todd Strait.
Ivan PADUART has left an impression since his early appearances. His talent and performance have earned him few awards:
Ivan PADUART has become a familiar face at jazz festivals. The list is growing steadily.
Hereunder is a representative list:
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Tourcoing, France, Gouvy, Belgium, Brignolles, France, Rossignol, Belgium, Vic, Spain, Montréal, Canada, Vignolla, Italy, Montreux,
Switzerland, Grimsby, UK, Prague, Czech Rep.,Vannes, France, Arhus, Denmark, Lincoln, USA, Kusadasi, Turkey, Tornio, Finland, St. Louis, Senegal, Novosibirsk (Russia), St Louis (USA), Kishinev (Moldavie), Guimaraes (Portugal), Tabarka (Tunisie)...
Showing a strong inclination toward composing Ivan is mostly playing his own compositions, with the exception of "Clair Obscur" which is a tribute to pianist Fred HERSCH and features HERSCH's music.
(See top of page for main discography)
| EUROP' JAZZ CONTEST 92 | (B.SHARP CDS 092) |
