A pianist with an impressive repertoire has become the toast of the jazz world.
And that’s because a young jazz musician named Alexandre Martinou is the best in the business.
Martinou is a 17-year-old student at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he’s been studying jazz since he was five years old.
His family lives in an area near the French capital that’s home to the French national jazz orchestra.
But the youngest of four, Martinou was born and raised in Montreal.
“I always wanted to play piano,” he said.
“And when I started to study, I noticed that there was a lot of classical pianists.
I wanted to try and learn something new.”
For years, Martinueres piano teacher, Alexandre Jens Moutou, taught Martinou to play classical and classical jazz.
But after studying in Montreal, Moutour decided to move to Paris and take Martinou under his wing.
“It was an amazing experience, because I have a huge respect for what he has done,” Moutouri said.
“He’s a young man who has a tremendous potential.”
Moutou has been teaching Martinou and other young jazz musicians since 2012.
Martinueres classical teacher, Moustapha Njie, said he was surprised at the talent of Martinou when he first met him.
“He’s very talented,” Njies said.
Njie said Martinou has developed a lot as a player and that he was thrilled to be his teacher.
“It’s very hard to find young people who have this talent,” Njoie said.
Martinouf is the third player in France to be inducted into the French jazz band.
In 2014, jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie was inducted.
In 2016, French jazz musician Yves Saint Laurent was inductee.
And in 2018, pianist Nicolas Chantelois was inductor.
