Airelle Besson

Born in Paris, Airelle Besson undertakes a dual training in trumpet, violin and composition at an early age, before turning to jazz at the conservatory and then at the CNSMD of Paris, where she earned a first prize in 2002. A trumpeter and bugler, she has since the early 2000s built a career situated between contemporary jazz, improvised chamber music and orchestral writing, with a clear, flexible and precise playing, attentive to nuances more than to effect. Airelle Besson first drew notice within the quintet Rockingchair, founded with Sylvain Rifflet, whose albums Premier (2007) and 1:1 (2011) extend an aesthetics open to circulations between jazz and more melodic forms. Her duo work with Nelson Veras yielded Prélude (2014), while her quartet with Isabel Sörling, Benjamin Moussay and Fabrice Moreau asserts a lighter color on Radio One (2016) and then Try! (2020). In parallel, Airelle Besson plays in varied contexts, from big band to chamber ensembles, notably with the Orchestre national de jazz, Laurent Cugny, Fred Pallem, Riccardo Del Fra or Vincent Ségal, and she also signs arrangements and scores for orchestra. More recently, the trio formed with Sebastian Sternal and Jonas Burgwinkel continues this search for lyric, mobile and collective jazz, documented by Surprise! in 2024.