Serre Chevalier Summer Jazz Festival 2026
From August 18 to 21, 2026, Serre Chevalier will host the
4th edition of the Serre Chevalier Summer Jazz Festival.
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Festival program
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Marylise Florid (solo guitar)
📆 Tuesday, August 18 - 6:30 PM
📍 Le Casset – Church
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The artist :
The talent of Marylise Florid is unanimously recognized in the world of classical guitar but also in the jazz scene, particularly since she shared the stage and recorded an album with Sylvain Luc, an exceptional guitarist who recently passed away.
Beyond her impressive record (Grand Prix of Interpretation at the René Bartoli International Guitar Competition, etc…), this outstanding musician is noted for the emotion that emanates from her playing, which is striking in its ease and precision, and for her innate sense of phrasing, always serving great musicality. A professor at the Marseille conservatory, she is as passionate about the stage as she is about teaching.
The traditional solo concert, which opens each edition of the festival in the small church of Casset, will allow us to hear her talents as a performer and improviser.
Louis Sclavis (solo clarinet)
📆 Wednesday, August 19 - 11:30 AM
📍 Saint Chaffrey – Saint Arnould Chapel
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The artist :
Louis Sclavis needs no introduction. A virtuoso and imaginative clarinetist, he is constantly in search of musical experiences and adventures. His unusual career has led him to play with numerous musicians on the international scene (Michel Portal, Henri Texier, Bernard Lubat, Eric Le Lann, and many others).
In 1988, he was awarded the Django Reinhardt Prize for “best French jazz musician” and in 1993, he received the “Djangodor” in the category “best French jazz album of the year.”
Godfather of the Summer Jazz Festival of Serre Chevalier since its creation in 2023, Louis Sclavis is present at every edition of the festival, whether in solo, duo, trio, or quartet.
This year, he is experimenting with a new concert venue: the Saint-Arnould Chapel in Saint-Chaffrey. This local heritage treasure, with its 15th-century frescoes, is the ideal setting for a solo midday recital. Louis Sclavis will make his various clarinets resonate in an acoustics that invites travel, dream, and meditation.
David Chevallier Trio
David Chevallier (guitars) - Matthieu Donarier (saxophones) - Sébastien Boisseau (double bass)
📆 Wednesday, August 19 - 6:30 PM
📍 Saint Chaffrey - Church
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The artists :
An obvious crossroads, and yet never taken until now. Here are three artists who have been working alongside each other for decades, but are brought together here in an explosive trio with multiple sonic combinations.
* David Chevallier studies classical guitar before becoming passionate about composition, improvisation, and jazz. A long-time collaborator of Laurent Dehors or Patrice Caratini, he is particularly interested in the points of connection between Baroque music and contemporary jazz. This is how he adopts the theorbo and Baroque guitar, but he does not abandon the electric guitar. His long collaboration with Sébastien Boisseau and drummer Christophe Lavergne resulted in the album Standards & Avatars.
* Matthieu Donarier is a saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser, and composer. He has been engaging in musical collaborations for over twenty years in France and Europe. He has shared the stage with prestigious musicians such as Dave Liebman, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Joachim Kühn, Bruno Chevillon, Jean-François Jenny-Clarke, Bojan Z, etc. Always in search of sound interactions in the moment, he remains focused on creation in the field of contemporary jazz, tending to blur the boundaries between written and improvised music. His long-standing duo with bassist Sébastien Boisseau finds its realization here with the contribution of David Chevallier.
* Sébastien Boisseau, for his part, was noticed very early by J.F. Jenny-Clark and Daniel Humair, and it was in 2000 that he received the first prize for soloist at the national defense competition in Paris. He has collaborated with and performed alongside numerous figures in jazz: Daniel Humair, Joachim Kühn, Marc Ducret, Martial Solal, Pat Metheny, Michel Portal, etc… With an obvious artistic closeness, this unique trio will present compositions by each of its members. A meeting that promises to be marked by melody and freedom.
Conference : John Coltrane by Lionel Eskenazi
📆 Thursday, August 20 - 11 AM📍 Le Monêtier les Bains - Le Lumière Cinema
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Conference by Lionel Eskenazi on 'John Coltrane'
A journalist at Jazz Magazine and a producer of programs for France Musique, Lionel Eskenazi will present the musical journey of John Coltrane.
Mamie Jotax
Camille Maussion (soprano/alto saxophones) - Carmen Lefrançois (saxophones, flute)📆 Thursday, August 20 - 6:30 PM
📍 La Salle les Alpes - Saint Marcelin Church
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Mamie Jotax is an over-energized saxophone duo that has managed to establish itself in recent years on today’s French jazz scene.
Camille Maussion, on tenor or soprano, and Carmen Lefrançois, on baritone, alto, soprano, and flute, offer music with variegated influences, mixing registers and the most unexpected sound combinations. In perfect connivance, they navigate through contemplative experimental music, juggle traditional songs from around the world, and concoct frenzied, carefully crafted arrangements. Winners of the Jazz Migration program in 2022, these two virtuosos infuse their music with a texture and energy that matches their talent. Rustlings, conversations, and extended techniques bring them closer to the whispers of the world. Their latest album "Mon cœur d’artichaut a mal aux abdos," released very recently, is full of mischief and bold compositions.
Jazz, the language of improvisation, the taste for text, the fruitful roughness of the contemporary, and the beauty of sound combinations, this is what we will be able to hear in the very beautiful church of La Salle-les-Alpes.
Pierre de Bethmann / Lê Quang Trio
1st part : Pierre de Bethmann (piano solo)2nd part : Lê Quang Trio : Vincent Lê Quang (saxophone) - Marc Ducret (guitar) - Bruno Ruder (piano)
📆 Friday, August 21 - 6 PM
📍 Le Monêtier les Bains - Church
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The artists :
* Part 1 : Pierre de Bethmann :
Pianist, jazz composer, and arranger, Pierre de Bethmann was born in Paris in 1965. Graduated from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, he began jazz as a self-taught musician.
At the age of 24, he decided to go study in the United States at the famous Boston jazz school, Berklee College of Music.
Some time after his return to France, he decided to devote himself entirely to music, encouraged by Laurent Cugny, then Director of the National Jazz Orchestra.
During a master class with Herbie Hancock, he particularly impressed the famous American pianist. He then began a career that would lead him to play with the best French jazz musicians.
In 2013, alongside Didier Lockwood and Lionel Belmondo, he participated in the 'French Jazz Week' at the very famous Copenhagen club, Jazzhus Montmartre.
He has recorded several albums for the Blue Note label, particularly with his PRYSM Trio, with which he has toured extensively in the United States. Renowned for being an excellent composer and arranger writing for various ensembles, up to 12 solo musicians, Pierre de Bethmann has won numerous awards:
- Prize of the National Jazz Competition in La Défense in 1994
- Django d'Or 1998
- Django-Reinhardt Prize of the Jazz Academy in 2004
- Victoire du Jazz in 2008 - Album of the Year
- Grand Jazz Prize of the Charles Cros Academy in 2016
- Victoires du Jazz 2024 - Instrumental Artist of the Year
- Victoires du Jazz 2025 - Album and Concert of the Year
Since 2008, he has been teaching at the Paris National Conservatory of Music and Dance, Jazz and Improvised Music Department.
* Part 2 : Lê Quang Trio :
“Lady Violet” is the name of an exceptional trio, formed by three major musicians of the French and international jazz scene: Vincent Lê Quang, Bruno Ruder, and Marc Ducret.
Vincent Lê Quang is a saxophonist whose insatiable appetite takes him from Jazz to contemporary music, including classical music. A great connoisseur of soprano and tenor saxophones, he has managed to forge a style and a sound recognizable among all. He has been heard alongside Daniel Humair, Jean-Paul Céléa, Jeanne Added, Aldo Romano, Henri Texier, Bruno Ruder, László Fassang, in the most prestigious venues in Washington, Moscow, Budapest, or Paris. Since 2007, he has been a professor at the National Superior Conservatory of Music (CNSM) in Paris.
Bruno Ruder, an eclectic pianist, is as comfortable in the most avant-garde contexts as he is in the great tradition of Jazz. He is both a sought-after sideman and the leader of his own projects. A graduate of the CNSM of Paris in 2003, he honed his skills with Riccardo Del Fra, who had him play alongside top-tier musicians. He then became the pianist of Magma from 2008 and of the National Jazz Orchestra from 2019 to 2024. A regular companion of the singer Jeanne Added, he is a loyal partner of Vincent Lê Quang. In 2022 and 2024, he was ranked as one of the three best French pianists, according to the Jazz Magazine rankings.
A self-taught guitarist, Marc Ducret was quickly drawn to very diverse modes of expression, both in his guitar playing and in his work as a composer. He was quickly noticed by major figures in jazz and plays alongside Daniel Humair, Michel Portal, Joachim Kühn, Henri Texier, Don Friedman, Larry Schneider, Andy Emler, and Didier Lockwood.
In 1986, he was invited by François Jeanneau to participate in the first National Jazz Orchestra.
He is today one of the essential figures of the French jazz scene.
8:15 PM : Monêtier les Bains Church Square: Closing aperitif offered to festival-goers by the Dauphiné Libéré
“Lady Violet” is the name of an exceptional trio, formed by three major musicians of the French and international jazz scene: Vincent Lê Quang, Bruno Ruder, and Marc Ducret.
Vincent Lê Quang is a saxophonist whose insatiable appetite takes him from Jazz to contemporary music, including classical music. A great connoisseur of soprano and tenor saxophones, he has managed to forge a style and a sound recognizable among all. He has been heard alongside Daniel Humair, Jean-Paul Céléa, Jeanne Added, Aldo Romano, Henri Texier, Bruno Ruder, László Fassang, in the most prestigious venues in Washington, Moscow, Budapest, or Paris. Since 2007, he has been a professor at the National Superior Conservatory of Music (CNSM) in Paris.
Bruno Ruder, an eclectic pianist, is as comfortable in the most avant-garde contexts as he is in the great tradition of Jazz. He is both a sought-after sideman and the leader of his own projects. A graduate of the CNSM of Paris in 2003, he honed his skills with Riccardo Del Fra, who had him play alongside top-tier musicians. He then became the pianist of Magma from 2008 and of the National Jazz Orchestra from 2019 to 2024. A regular companion of the singer Jeanne Added, he is a loyal partner of Vincent Lê Quang. In 2022 and 2024, he was ranked as one of the three best French pianists, according to the Jazz Magazine rankings.
A self-taught guitarist, Marc Ducret was quickly drawn to very diverse modes of expression, both in his guitar playing and in his work as a composer. He was quickly noticed by major figures in jazz and plays alongside Daniel Humair, Michel Portal, Joachim Kühn, Henri Texier, Don Friedman, Larry Schneider, Andy Emler, and Didier Lockwood.
In 1986, he was invited by François Jeanneau to participate in the first National Jazz Orchestra.
He is today one of the essential figures of the French jazz scene.
8:15 PM : Monêtier les Bains Church Square: Closing aperitif offered to festival-goers by the Dauphiné Libéré
