About

Of French and Spanish descent, Renaud Garcia-Fons divides his time between these two countries and cultures when he is not on tour across Europe. Renowned for his remarkable technique as a bassist, whose bow sound evokes the violin or cello (L.A. Times), Renaud is influenced not only by jazz and classical music but also by traditional Eastern, African, and Spanish music. His talent has led him to collaborate with open-minded artists such as Rabih Abou-Khalil, Nguyen Lê, Gérard Marais, Pedro Soler, Jean-Louis Matinier, and Michael Riessler.

​

After his solo album Légendes and the quartet album Alboreá (both receiving rave reviews from the global press), the East-West synthesis Renaud sought reaches its peak with Oriental Bass. “I dreamed of a bass that was half Gypsy, half Mauritanian, which would have traveled from India to Andalusia, crossing the Mediterranean from north to south,” says Renaud.

​

“The bass is neither a traditional instrument nor an Eastern instrument. But by playing it both pizzicato and with the bow, with a vast range of sounds, it sounds as though it were a natural part of an Eastern environment. For several years, my composition and improvisation work has been guided by these relationships and by the love that the bass brings to all these musics. It is from this idea that this album was born.”

​

Assisted by many musicians with diverse backgrounds and ethnic origins, Renaud Garcia-Fons' visionary masterpiece Oriental Bass stands as one of the pinnacle works of 1997's multicultural discographic production.