Richard Galliano

Born in Cannes in 1950, Richard Galliano trained early on in piano and accordion before studying harmony, counterpoint and trombone at the Nice Conservatory. Settling in Paris in 1975, he entered the worlds of chanson and jazz by accompanying Claude Nougaro, for whom he also served as conductor until 1983. His encounter with Astor Piazzolla in 1980 marked a lasting turning point: Galliano then developed a musical writing that links French musette, jazz, tango nuevo and the classical repertoire, in a playing style that is at once lyrical, highly articulated and deeply rooted in improvisation. An accordionist, bandoneonist and composer, he has since worked across jazz clubs, festivals, chamber ensembles and orchestras. Among his most notable recordings are New Musette (1991), which formalized this stylistic synthesis, New York Tango (1996), French Touch (1998), Mare Nostrum (2008) with Paolo Fresu and Jan Lundgren, and his reinterpretations of Bach (2010), Vivaldi (2013) and Mozart (2016). Galliano has also performed alongside musicians such as Michel Portal, Biréli Lagrène, Ron Carter, Eddy Louiss and Sylvain Luc in settings ranging from duo to trio and quintet.