Xavier Desandre Navarre

Xavier Desandre Navarre (born 11 October 1961), a.k.a. XDN, is a French jazz musician, percussionist and drummer.

Xavier Desandre Navarre was born in Paris.

He spends a great part of his childhood between Paris and the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, but a year spent with his family in Iran that awakened his passion for the variety of rhythms offered by percussions.

Back in France, in 1975, he starts learning music academically by studying classical percussion at Aix-en-Provence music conservatory.

In the meantime, he also learnt Brazilian rhythms and percussion, from samba to candomble, with Sylvio de Santana Jr. and Brazilian musicologist and conductor Nicia Ribas d'Avila.

He started playing jazz, and improvising on African and Cuban music.

His musical philosophy is to create bridges between these different styles.

In 1987, Xavier Desandre Navarre moved to Paris and begins his career with musician Laurent Cugny in the Big Band Lumière for a European tour with Gil Evans.

In 1991, he joined the National Jazz Orchestra directed by Denis Badault.

In the same time, he leads a hyperproductive jazz and variety sideman career.

Between 1991 and 2012, Xavier Desandre Navarre directs or takes part in more than 150 CDs and recordings, some of which are gold records or have received prestigious distinctions.

Navarre also composes scores, as he did for Luc Besson's film Léon, starring Jean Reno in 1994, or for Menno Meyjes's Manolete starring Penélope Cruz and Adrien Brody in 2008.

All along his career, he also composed many scores for TV documentaries, for Canal+, Arte and France Télévision.

In 1998, he composed music for the opening ceremony of the football World Cup in Paris and took part in the creation of the independent production label Peak Power in 1999.

He also takes part in many shows and performances, as he did for the French Turkish in 2009, by giving a concert at the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.

The latest one was recorded with Korean singer Youn Sun Nah, and was nominated best French jazz album in 2010 and Gold CD in Germany in 2011.

Xavier Desandre Navarre develops a very specific musical identity by the eclectic rhythms he harmonizes with his voice.

Along his career, he is the guest of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and plays with such musicians as Manu Dibango, Yaron Herman, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Didier Lockwood or Stefano di Battista.

He is also particularly appreciated by scandinavian musicians with whom he records many projects.

In this, he plays with guitarist Ulf Wakenius, Niels Lan Doky, Lars Danielsson and singer Caecillie Norby.

Equally at ease with the intimacy of jazz and with the superproductions of the electronic scene, he give a live gig with French electro music icon Laurent Garnier, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 2010, and later plays the same project for two consecutive nights at the Grand Palais.

In 2010, he played in a show called Story of Earth and Water created for the UNESCO.

More recently, in 2011, he acted the part of a jazz musician in a film dealing with the life of Pierre Goldman.

Youn Sun Nah, Gil Evans, David Sanborn, Randy Brecker, Charlie Haden & Liberation Orchestra, John Scofield, Michel Portal, Yaron Herman, Leszek Mozdzer, Joachim Kuhn, Markus Stockhausen, Christof Lauer, Aldo Romano, Rick Margitza, Baptiste Trottignon, Tania Maria, Paolo Fresu, Orchestre National de Jazz ONJ, Jacky Terrasson, Bugge Wesseltoft, Daniel Yvinnec, Ulf Wakenius, Lars Danielsson, Niels Lan Doky, Nils Landgren, Laurent Cugny & Big Band Lumière, Manu Dibango, Jazz Baltica Ensemble, WDR Symphonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tivoli Symphonic Orchestra, Les Rita Mitsouko, Victoria Tolstoï, Caecillie Norby, Gino Vanelli, Toots Thielmans, Claude Nougaro, Cyril Atef, Didier Lockwood, Nils Peter Molvaer, Jan Bang, Andy Emler, Cheb Mami, Safy Boutela, Baaziz, Dominic Miller, Jean-Philippe Collard-Neven, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Fabrice Alleman, Juliette Gréco, Okay Temiz, Prabhu Edouard, Bobo Stenson, Dave Liebman, Jean-Pierre Mas, Jon Balke, John Paricelli, Vincent Segal, Hopen Collective, Alain Jean-Marie, Louis Winsberg, Terri Lyne Carrington, Pierre Boussaguet, Jacques Vidal, Pierrick Pedron, Paul Wertico, Palle Mikelborg, Leon Parker, Boy Gé Mendes, Teco Cardoso, François Moutin, Lelo Nazario, Dudu Trentin, Stephane Belmondo, Lionel Belmondo, Eric Legnini, Stephano Di Battista, Julia Migenes, Edouard Ferlet, Mads Winding, Alex Riel, Baba Maal, Omar Sosa, Nguyen Lé, Courtney Pine, London Gospel Choir, Michel Jonasz, Crazy B, Jean-Phi Dary, Baco Mikaelian, Bireli Lagrène, Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Bill Evans, John Scofield, Laurent Garnier.

In 2012, he will present his latest solo project Beat, body and soul at the Lyon opera house.

At the same time he presents two more creations at the Lyon opera house, United Nations of Groove ( Black music & Jazz) quartet with singer Allonymous and visual designer Tekyes, and In-Pulse acoustic jazz quartet.