Coming from a Romani family on his father’s side, guitarist Christian Escoudé was known for his contributions to Gypsy jazz, among the various other styles he explored. Born in Angoulême on September 23, 1947, he began learning the instrument at the age of ten, with Django Reinhardt as his primary influence, and became a professional musician five years later. He began by playing in trumpeter Aimé Barelli’s orchestra, before accompanying Eddy Louiss, Bernard Lubat, and Aldo Romano, and later joining Steve Potts’s band Recent History (1973) and Didier Levallet’s Swing String System, with which he performed until 1987. After forming a duo with double bassist Jean-Charles Capon and receiving the Django Reinhardt Prize from the Académie du Jazz in 1976, Christian Escoudé formed a quartet with pianist Michel Graillier, Aldo Romano, and Alby Cullaz, who was later replaced by Jean-François Jenny-Clark. He accompanied Slide Hampton and Michel Portal, recorded duets with John Lewis and Charlie Haden, and formed a new trio for the album Return (1979), followed by Gipsy’s Morning (1981), recorded as a quintet. He became a regular guest at the Samois-sur-Seine festival paying tribute to Django Reinhardt and joined Philippe Catherine and Didier Lockwood for the album Trio (1983), in addition to numerous recording sessions and concerts with Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Toots Thielemans, John McLaughlin, Shelly Manne, and Louis Chedid. Among the short-lived groups he formed for the duration of an album was the Trio Gitan, featuring Babik Reinhardt and Boulou Ferré on Three of a Kind (1985), which went on to perform at festivals. The albums followed one after another, such as Christian Escoudé with Strings Plays Django Reinhardt (1991), Holidays (1993), In L.A. (1993), *Cookin' in Hell's Kitchen* (1995), and *A Suite for Gypsies* (1998), followed by *Ma Ya Ya* with the Progressive Sextet in 2005 and *Catalogne* in 2010. He also paid tribute to Paris, Ma Muse (2001), to George Brassens in Au Bois de Mon Cœur (2011), and to John Lewis in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (2013). In 2019, Django, les Inédits followed, then Ancrage with Unit Five in 2024. Christian Escoudé passed away on May 13, 2024, at the age of 76.
