Paul Lay
Biography Paul Lay
Paul Lay
graduated from the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) where he studied at the Jazz and Improvised Music Department with Hervé Sellin, François Théberge, Glenn Ferris and Dre Pallemearts, and later with Riccardo del Fra, Joey Baron , Marc Johnson, Archie Shepp Michel Portal)
Paul Lay has won numerous prizes both in national and international competitions (Soloist prize at the National Jazz Competition of La Defense, like predecessors as Bojan Z or Baptiste Trotignon, laureate of the International Piano Jazz Competition of Moscow, Martial Solal International Piano Jazz Competition, Montreux International Piano Jazz Competition). He also is a laureate of the Meyer Foundation, Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
Paul Lay is guest to the most prestigious venues in France and abroad, in solo recital as well as at the head of his various bands (Paul Lay Mikado Quartet, Paul Lay Trio, Alcazar Memories): Duc des Lombards , Sunside, Jazz à la Villette , North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Radio France Montpellier Festival, Festivals of Annecy Festival, Biarritz , Cologne , Midsummer Hardelot Festival, Music Empéri , Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse etc…
He also plays as side man with Geraldine Laurent quartet, Riccardo Del Fra quintet, Ping Machine Big Band, Shauli Einav Quintet, accompanies Barbara Hendricks for a medley of Spirituals and gospels on the first International Day of Jazz at UNESCO, and is now touring Canada (Montréal, Toronto etc..) with the singer Terez Montcalm.
After the creation of his new production " Alcazar Memories ," a tribute to the Music Hall from Marseille with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu), on the occasion of Marseille European Capital of Culture 2013, Paul Lay will return to the Theatre National de la Criée in January 2014, this time for a solo recital as a tribute to Michel Petrucciani , sharing the stage with Baptiste Trotignon and Aldo Romano. He will also perform at the Duc des Lombards with his new quartet and in Maintenon Castle, Albi, Théâtre de Neuilly (for a duet with classical pianist Denis Pascal) , Jazz Naturel festival in Orthez, and on tour in Sweden..
Regularly invited abroad, Paul Lay has played in various venues and for organizations such as the IAJE in New York, in Toronto, and the French Institute in Berlin. Paul Lay has also toured Russia and Central America (Peru, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago , Dominican Republic) with the support of Cultures France (now Institut Français).
Paul Lay records exclusively for Laborie Jazz since 2010.
