Patrice Meyer | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Patrice Meyer |
| Born | 18 December 1957 Strasbourg, France |
| Genres | Progressive rock, Jazz, Jazz rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Composer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1973 – present |
| Labels | Musea Records, FMR Records |
| Website | Patrice Meyer official website |
Patrice Meyer (b. 18 December 1957) is a French electric guitarist active in Jazz, Jazz rock, Progressive rock and Canterbury scene bands.
Patrice Meyer was born in Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. He began teaching himself guitar at an early age (10), sneaking into his older brother’s room to handle his guitar. [1] Being self-taught, he didn’t know anything about proper guitar technique, or how to use a plectrum, so he developed a unique polyphonic style of fingerpicking using all five fingernails of his right hand. At 16 he joined his older brother’s band, playing mostly Progressive rock. In 1977 he turned professional, opening as a solo act for Magma and Gong when they played Strasbourg. Moving to Paris that year he met John McLaughlin, helping him with his French while John helped him with his English. [2] Meyer continued playing opening gigs for famous jazz musicians coming through Paris, including jazz guitarist Jim Hall — who in 1981 said of Meyer in a magazine interview with Martine Palmé, "He's got such an amazing right hand technique that it almost gave me stagefright." In 1983 Meyer met Australian fusion guitarist Frank Gambale at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, sharing the stage in a widely publicized ‘guitar duel.’
That same year Meyer released his first solo album, entitled Racines Croisées, featuring guitarist Philippe Petit, keyboardist Patrick Morgenthaler, bassist Henri Texier, and drummer Jacques Mahieux.
In 1985 (age 27) Meyer met drummer Pip Pyle in Lillers when he opened for Soft Heap. Pip introduced him to Hugh Hopper of the Canterbury scene, of which Meyer was soon to become an honorary member. In ’86 Meyer hired Pip & Hugh for the Patrice Meyer Quartet (with Patrick Morgenthaler), and together they toured the continent extensively, and released Meyer’s second solo album, Dromadaire Viennois. Also during this time he was a member of the French Zeuhl band Anaid. [3]
In 1989 Hugh Hopper recruited him for his Franglo-Dutch band, which featured saxophonist Frank van der Kooij. They released three albums and toured Europe before breaking up in 1995. He toured with Richard Sinclair’s RSVP in 1994, and the following year with Pip’s Equip’Out. He also formed the trio Tertio with organist Emmanuel Bex and Pip Pyle. With the Paris-based ensemble Polysons he performed a series of concerts in 1997 devoted to the music of The Beatles and Soft Machine. In 2002 he joined Pip’s new band Bash, performing at the Progman Cometh Festival in Seattle and releasing the album Belle Illusion. The following year he became a member of the Didier Malherbe Trio and started his own trio with Rémy Chaudagne and Jean-Baptiste Cortot. In 2006 he performed in a tribute to the late Elton Dean with Pierre-Olivier Govin, Michel Delville, Hugh Hopper, Didier Malherbe, Frank van Kooj, Sophia Domancich, and Charles Calamel. In June 2008 he appeared at the Tritonales Festival with John Etheridge. [4]
| Year | Artist | Title |
| 1980 | Renaud | Marche à l'ombre |
| 1981 | Renaud | Le Retour de Gérard Lambert |
| 1983 | Patrice Meyer | Racines Croisées |
| 1986 | Patrice Meyer | Dromadaire Viennois |
| 1986 | Anaid | Vêtue De Noir |
| 1989 | Anaid | Belladonna |
| 1989 | Hugh Hopper Band | Mecano Pelorus |
| 1991 | Anaid | Four Years (compilation Belladonna + most of Vêtue De Noir) |
| 1993 | Hugh Hopper Band | Hooligan Romantics |
| 1995 | Hugh Hopper Band | Carousel |
| 1995 | Tertio | 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 |
| 2001 | John Greaves | On the street where you live |
| 2004 | Pip Pyle’s Bash | Belle Illusion |
| 2004 | Pip Pyle’s Equip'Out | Instants |
Gong are a psychedelic rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida.
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. As a central band of the Canterbury scene, the group became one of the first British psychedelic acts and later moved into progressive rock and jazz fusion, becoming a purely instrumental band since 1971. The band has undergone many line-up changes, with musicians such as Andy Summers, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington and Allan Holdsworth being members during the band's history. The current line-up consists of John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Thelonious Baker and Asaf Sirkis.
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist, known for his extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. He was also a founding member of the group that would later develop into the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Hugh Colin Hopper was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.
Didier Malherbe, is a French jazz, rock and world music musician, known as a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk, as well as a poet.
Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in Soft Machine, among others.
Phillip "Pip" Pyle was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield and the North and National Health.
John Greaves is a British bass guitarist, pianist and composer who was a member of Henry Cow and has collaborated with Peter Blegvad. He was also a member of progressive rock band National Health and jazz-rock supergroup Soft Heap, and has recorded several solo albums, including Accident (1982), Parrot Fashions (1984), The Caretaker (2001) and Greaves Verlaine (2008).
Philip Paul Miller was an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist and a central part of the Canterbury scene.
Short Wave Live is the only album by Short Wave, a UK band related to the Canterbury Scene, consisting of Hugh Hopper (bass), Didier Malherbe (sax), Phil Miller (guitar) and Pip Pyle (drums).
Richard Stephen Sinclair is an English progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene.
Gary Husband is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboard player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer.
Soft Heap was a Canterbury scene and jazz-rock supergroup founded in January 1978 and active throughout the Eighties.
In Cahoots was a Canterbury scene band led by guitarist Phil Miller, their main composer.
Mark Hewins is an English guitarist known for his connections to the Canterbury scene, a group of English progressive rock musicians during the 1960s.
Gordon James Beck was an English jazz pianist and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name.
Chris Jennings is a Canadian jazz double bassist, composer, arranger and educator.
Sophia Domancich is a French pianist and jazz composer.
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