Didier Goret

Born in Amiens in 1957, Didier Goret began his piano studies at the age of 9 with a former student of Alfred Cortot. He continued his training at the César Franck School and at the École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris, where he studied with Jean Boguet. He also studied harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatory of the 14th arrondissement with Yvonne Desportes and attended the electroacoustic composition class at the Paris Conservatoire with Guy Reibel and Laurent Cuniot.

In 1980, he obtained a degree in Musicology. He later furthered his studies in composition and arrangement with André Hodeir, in arrangement with Yvan Julien (CIM), of whom he later became an assistant, in improvisation with Pierre Cammas and Martial Solal, and also in Cuba with the National Company of Dance and Music of Santiago de Cuba. He also studied composition and music for image with the American composer David Engel (IACP) and conducting with Nicolas Brochot.

Throughout his career, he has received several awards, notably the SACEM Prize in 1983 for the quality and originality of his compositions and arrangements at the National Competition of La Défense.

In 1987, he won 1st Prize at the International Composition Competition of the Principality of Monaco with the work Fondante Amandine, and in 1999, 1st Prize at the International Composition Competition for clarinet in the city of Ostend with the quartet Quatre Instantanés.

Didier Goret performs in various jazz groups, notably with Yvan Julien, Roger Guérin, François Chassagnite, Sylvain Luc, and Hervé Cavelier. He also accompanies numerous jazz singers, including Laurence Saltiel, Guilaine Delassus, Johan Desforges, Mathiew Gonder, and Allen Hoist. At the same time, he leads his own projects, including the big band Assiette Anglaise, with which he recorded a CD in 1988, as well as a trio with regular concert activity.

He has also collaborated with various classical and French chanson artists, including Juliette (on five albums), Hélène Delavault, Sylvie Louche, Font et Val, Marie-Paule Belle, Maurice Baquet, Isabelle Morelli, Colette Renard, and Jo-Ann Pickens. He also worked with Jérôme Savary, notably on the production Zazou, presented at the Palais de Chaillot and later on tour, as well as with various theatre and music-hall companies.

As a composer, he has written for multiple jazz ensembles (ONJ 86, Gérard Badini Big Band, Steckar Tubahorde, Milky Sax, Chance Orchestra, INC Jazz Corporation, Megaswing Big Band, Caravansérail, among others) and for classical formations (Quintette Epsilon, Paris Saxophone Quartet, Clarinet Quartet Images, Panam Trombones, Duo Spinosi, among others). He has also composed for theatre and cinema, including soundtracks for Gaumont films, television documentaries, and multimedia projects.

As an arranger and composer, he has contributed to the production of several French chanson albums (Juliette, Jean Guidoni, Laurence Saltiel, Isabelle Morelli, among others) and wrote two jazz operas: Le car de Minuit, commissioned by the French Ministry of National Education and premiered in 1999 at the Massy Opera-Theatre, and Le Diable et l’Architecte, performed in Nancy, Troyes, and Calais.

He also composed a suite for string orchestra and solo saxophone with the American saxophonist Bobby Rangell, premiered in 2003 at the Calais Theatre under the direction of Jean-Robert Lay, followed by a one-year artistic residency.

After collaborating with the tango orchestras Hora Cero and Tango Élan, for which he wrote original repertoire, he founded his own tango quartet in 2002, featuring, among others, the Argentine bandoneonist Juan José Mosalini.