Patrice Héral is a French jazz percussionist born in 1965 in Montpellier. He was largely self-taught and studied with musicians Alain Joule and Barre Phillips. Until 1990, he performed with the street theatre group Compagnie Malabar Paillasson and the ensemble Tropique du Cancer. After relocating to Vienna in 1990, he collaborated with musicians including Georg Graf and Otto Lechner. His recording history included the albums Wumm Zack Vol. 1 (1992), Kartā (2000) and Triangulation (2004). During his career, he has collaborated with artists including Nicolas Simion, Tomasz Stańko and Ed Schuller. In 1994, he participated in a tour of Russia with the singer Sainkho Namtchylak. Héral was a member of the Orchestre National de Jazz between 2005 and 2007. Since 2014, he has performed as a member of Alexandra Lehmler’s quartet. He also serves as an instructor at the Conservatoire de Montpellier.
