Edmond Hosdikian
saxophonist

Born in 1970. From 1981 to 89, he studied at the Marseille Conservatoire, where he won first prize in saxophone and music theory. His music is very much alive, and he's always involved in the hustle and bustle of his city. He creates musical events and meets other musicians from all cultures. His love of jazz naturally leads him to express himself freely, in this creative space where speech becomes sound. Free jazz is driven by his saxophone's frantic search for "inner harmony". Edmond Hosdikian searches where he finds himself, in his life, in his city, in his origins...
"Armenia? I feel it as part of my body. When everything's going well, you don't think about it. It's when your arm hurts that you become aware of its importance in your life." There will be no compromise between two musical styles. There will be passions, the pain of the Armenian exile in Marseille, the faith of the kamantcha master, the pain of contemporary Armenia... Duo - duel, simply the love of life. Edmond Hosdikian accompanies artists such as Michel Petrucianni, Barre Phillips, Mike Stern, Jacques Higelin, Jamaaladeen Tacuma...

Ahmad Compaoré
drummer, composer

Ahmad Compaoré is a musician on the loose. With his feet, his fists and his hands, he strikes, whips and caresses the copper of his cymbals and the skins of his drums. Egyptian on his mother's side, Burkinabé on his father's, Compaoré's career path mirrors his own, built on encounters between cultures and with musicians who have helped him forge an extraordinary destiny. Discovered at the age of 17 by Comorian guitarist Ali Afandi, he was revealed in 1991 by Fred Frith's rock opera "Helter Skelter". After 2 years' training at the Centre Musical & Créatif de Nancy (M.A.I.), from which he graduated top of his class with honors in 1995, he took part in residencies with percussionist Makoto Yabuki and balafonist Mahama Konaté in Marseille. In a constant quest for exploration and discovery, he joined a Senegalese groove band (1996), then that of Reunionese singer and composer Ti Fock (1998). He released his first album in 2000 with his group Oriental Fusion (Hakim Hamadouche and Edmond Hosdikian), and has collaborated with musicians such as Fred Frith, Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Camel Zekri, Jean-Marc Montera, Barre Phillips and Otomo Yoshihide. But this wealth of encounters is not limited to musical creation: in 2002, he crossed paths with Egyptian choreographer and dancer Karima Mansour, who chose him as her regular partner for her duet "Temporament", and in 2003, he took part in the theatrical creation "La Mer Intérieure, Voix-Algérie" by Frédérique Wolf-Michaux. Twice winner of the Culturesfrance "Hors les Murs" award, he travelled to India in 2005 to learn the art of tabla from master Sree Debasish Dass, then left for a residency in Tokyo in 2008 for a creative project (computer-assisted music) with various Japanese artists. 2011 saw the formation of the Nafas trio, whose original repertoire offers a skilful blend of jazz fusion and world music, not forgetting the unmissable Musique Rebelle evenings, which always feature a host of surprise guests. Ahmad Compaoré also experiments with the most extreme forms of experimental and improvised music, jazz and fusion. He also teaches drums and contemporary percussion at La Boîte à Musique, his residency at Marseille's Friche la Belle de Mai. In addition to his many concerts and workshops, he continues his journey along the road of rhythms, those of a musician without frontiers...