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Artist
Raymond Boni
12+ albums
12guitarfrenchjazzfrance
about
Influenced by musicians as diverse as Django Reinhardt and Cecil Taylor, French guitarist Raymond Boni has developed a unique and dazzling style derived from gypsy technique. After studying the piano and switching to the harmonica, Raymond Boni learned how to play the guitar with Gypsies living near his home. This empirical experience would leave a permanent imprint on Boni's approach to the instrument. In the early '60s, still a teenager, he decided to go study in London. Surrounded by a very diverse and creative musical environment, Boni decided to get serious about the guitar and to break from the musical framework of musical academia. Back in France, he settled in Paris where he was among the first French musicians to embrace free jazz and free improvisation. His first major collaboration was a long-lived duo he formed with guitarist Gérard Marais in 1973. In 1978, he started a long relationship with Joe McPhee, which produced some stellar albums such as Old Eyes & Mysteries and Oleo & a Future Retrospective. In 1981, Boni moved to Marseille where he was not able to perform as often as in Paris. As an alternative, he focused on writing and diversified his projects. In 2001, Boni reunited with McPhee for an album, Voices & Dreams, and several concerts in the U.S. and Europe. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
