AMCEL Agora-Diffusion
Jean-Pierre Caens or eclecticism in the service of music
Curious and active musician, Jean-Pierre Caens shows thanks to his diverse and creative action the saxophone in all its stages. Here are some of his faces:
Soloist and chambrist
In parallel to studies in university at La Sorbonne-Paris IV (French literature, musicology, with PhD thesis on "The saxophone facing its repertoire"), he won several rewards, both nationals (CNSM, Ministerial Price...) and internationals (Geneva Switzerland in 1970, Martigny Switzerland, Ancona Italy...).
Since 1975, he is having a double career of teacher (university and music school) and interpret in soloist or in band with repertoire including or dedicated to saxophones. Evidently experienced with all the scale of saxophone, he is specialised with alto, soprano, and sopranino; he therefore belongs to this minority of saxophonists who does not choose the popular tenor.
He is fondator and member of diverse formations like the saxophones quartets "A Piacere", the reeds quartets "Aulodia", the Ensemble de Saxophone de Provence -Provence Saxophones Band-, the flexible band "Présences contemporaines", the structure "Sax Sax Plus" or the collective "Zarbouk Human System", all regrouped within his association AMCEL Agora-Diffusion.
He is also in charge of the conduction of the "Ensemble de Saxophone de Provence".
Publication, arrangement
Member of the SACEM (French society protecting the copyright for artists), he is working on numerous arrangement or transcriptions, mainly for saxophone formations and reeds quartets, like for instance his arrangement for reeds quartet of the "Villageoises" from Francis Poulenc, for the Editions Salabert. Some of his transcriptions are nevertheless hand-written and non-publicated (see the page Contacts if you are interested or want more information).
He is the author of number of publications dedicated to musicology (revue "Asafra", "Scherzo", "Cahiers de recherches" of CEFEDEM ...) and music in general (Editions Billaudot, Salabert; director of the collection “A Piacere” within Robert Martin).
He also published a teaching method "The saxophonist's ABC. Learning with duets" (see paragraph Pedagogy).
Musical pieces ordering
The revue "Diapason-Harmonie" (sept 1992) honored his discography, his commitment for contemporary musics and his activity of musical creation and ordering (he ordered more than 70 pieces from more than 40 composers from various music styles).
The main ones are: Martial Solal, François Jeanneau, André Bon, Steve Lacy, F. et J.L. Méchali, J.C. Jollet, K.H. Stockhausen, Brice Pauset, Y. Markovitch, Nicolas Zourabichvili, François Rossé, Christian Lauba, Patrice Caratini, Georges Boeuf, Michel Pascal, Robert Coinel, Henry Fourès, Jean-Louis Billoud, Brad Wheeler, Etienne Rolin, Alex Grillo, Jean Claude Wolf, J.C. Carrasco, J.P. Baumgartner, Bernard Boetto, A. Markéas, H. Agnel, Robert Pascal, Luis de Pablo, Daniel Sprintz, Arturo Fuentes, J.M. Marrero, Andy Emler, Hacène Larbi, Omar Yagoubi, Nicolas Bacri, C.H. Roux, Shuya Xu, Denis Badault, Claudio Gabriele, etc.
Jean-Pierre Caens is an awarded pedagogue internationally known and regularly asked for master-classes, various trainings or trials, and even conferences in musicology.
Although he started his teaching career in Besançon, he is since 1995 based in Aix-en-Provence where he is teaching saxophones to the "Darius Milhaud" school of music. There, he also created and currently manage and animate a workshop dedicated to contemporary musics.
His teaching method of saxophone in 2 volumes (Editions Billaudot ) "The saxophonist's ABC. Learning with duets" (available in English) is known to be efficient and innovative. Clear, funny, simple and complete in the same time, this method starts from the beginning (position, breathing, mouthpiece -see example on mouthpiece here) and then goes slowly deeper (alternative finger positions, work on all the tessitura), basing itself on music pieces from various horizons. Its originality is that it involves the teacher even more than a traditional method, this due to the concept of duet. Besides, this help in learning to listen to the other during playing, which is a compulsory behave for all musicians.
Material
After having played and collaborated with the saxophones Selmer during over 20 years, Jean-Pierre Caens started in 2005 a new challenge and signed with the society SML/YANAGISAWA Paris. More than a simple sponsor, this partnership sees Jean-Pierre Caens involved with the improvement and the development of the entire scale of saxophones.
The ligatures BG, the mouthpiece Vandoren and the reeds Vandoren (and Rico for jazz) are also part of his equipment.
Discography
- 6 CD commercialised: contemporary and classic musics, soloist or within saxophone quartets "A Piacere" and reed quartet "Aulodia"
- 3 CD promotional "Portrait"
See the page Works and discography for more details.
Dedication
« Virtuose, pédagogue, mais, par dessus tout musicien, Jean-Pierre Caens sait de quoi il parle. La musique, c’est son affaire, c’est sa vie… Son ouvrage – le saxophone face à ses répertoires - est signe de passion et le fruit d’une quête de vérité… Un beau talent . »
"Virtuose, pedagogue, but above all musician, Jean-Pierre Caens knows what he is talking about. Music, it is his business, his life... His work -the saxophone facing its repertoires- is sign of passion and illustrate a quest of truth... A beautiful gift".
Jean-Marie Londeix, saxophonist
