Sylvain Rifflet, a French saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer, cites Stan Getz as his main saxophone influence. He readily draws from the field of American repetitive and minimalist music to skillfully blend improvisation, repetition, disruption, “noise,” and at times, trance in his compositions.
A graduate of the Paris Conservatory, Sylvain Rifflet is the winner of the La Défense competition and has received several awards, including a “Victoire du jazz” and a “Django d’or.”
He has performed and recorded alongside numerous musicians, including some of the “must-see” figures in the European music scene, such as Louis Sclavis, Aldo Romano, François Jeanneau, Kenny Wheeler, Riccardo Del Fra, as well as leading American musicians like Joey Baron, Jon Irabagon, Jon Hollenbeck, and Jim Black.
As a leading figure of the young generation of jazz musicians in the first decade of the 21st century, he has collaborated with those who are now at the forefront of the “new scene” in Europe: Verneri Pohjola, Airelle Besson, Thomas de Pourquery, Alban Darche, Jocelyn Mienniel, Pascal Schumacher, Rembrandt Freirichs, Florian Weber, Ève Risser, Sébastien Boisseau, Henning Sieverts, and Fred Pallem, among others.
Notably recognized as a composer in 2011 with the release of “Alphabet,” he subsequently released two albums under the Jazz Village label: “Perpetual Motion – a celebration of Moondog” in 2014 and “Mechanics” in 2015. In 2017, he signed with Verve to release “Refocus,” his first album for the prestigious label.
He has also been an artist-in-residence at various institutions and festivals, including Jazz au fil de l’Oise, Festival Banlieues Bleues, the national stage of Alençon, the Conservatory of Besançon, Festival Like a jazz Machine (Luxembourg), and is currently an associated artist at the Théâtre de Cornouaille (national stage of Quimper).
Photo credits: Guillaume Reynaud – Sylvain Gripoix.