About

Improviser, composer and explorer of music from around the world all together, Manuel Hermia simultaneously expresses his discourse as a saxophonist and his love for bansuri. In addition to his saxophone and jazz harmony studies at the Conservatory, he has indeed developed a mastery of the bansuri – the flute from North-India. Besides, he has extended his knowledge of Indian and Arab music including ragas and maqams in a global thinking of music. Generally, he progressively incorporates into his language all the cultural elements that his course invites him to incorporate. He has also developed his own melodic-harmonic system with his theory called « rajazz », thus making a bridge between jazz and ragas, that is to say a tonal thinking and a modal thinking of music.

Manuel Hermia has simultaneously developed personal projects in several directions :

• In contemporary jazz with Manuel Hermia trio ( Long tales and short Stories, Igloo 2010, Octave for best jazz band in 2011) with the very adventurous Joao Lobo (drums) and ManoloCabras (double bass)

• Also with the trio Hermia/Ceccaldi/Darrifourcq. A UFO in the landscape, this trio with Sylvain Darrifourcq on drums and Valentin Ceccaldi on cello proposes a jazz both very accessible and without concessions.

• At a crossroads of musics, in the band Slang (Los Locos, Save the Chilis, It’s on the way, Karmasutra) for an ethno coltranian rock with his mates Michel Seba on percussions and François Garny on the bass.

• In a more ‘world’ perspective this time and only on the bansuri with « Whisper from the Orient » (vol 1 2005, and vol 2 in 2012 Igloo and Cristal/Harmonia Mundi),

• Manuel Hermia is also currently playing in Majid Bekkas Afro Oriental trio ( alqantara-igloo mondo, 2014 ), a project that is not his but which is very important for him.

On the European jazz scene, he has also played with Eric Vermeulen, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Bruno Castellucci, Sam Gertsmans, Jean-Paul Estévienart, LievenVenken, Salvatore La Rocca, Sylvain Romano, as well as with Pierre Van Dormael, Julien Tassin, Julien Herne, Kari Ikonen, OmriMor, Marcin Oles, Nono Garcia, Ramon Lopez, Jean-Pierre Froidebise, MaximeBlésin, Cécric Raymond, Greg Houben, Julien Charley, Emmanuel Duprey, and many more.

He has also accumulated creations with numerous artists from different cultures: Majid Bekkas ( oud and gembri, Morocco), Mamady Keita ( Djembe, Guinea ), Purbayan Chatterjee ( sitar , India), Dhruba Ghosh ( sarangi, India ), Manou Gallo ( bass, Ivory Coast ) GuoGan ( erhu,China ), Regis Gizavo ( accordion, Madagascar ), Mokoomba ( Zimbabwe ), Ben Ngabo ( Rwanda ), Joao Braga ( Brazil ), DobetGnahoré ( singing, Ivory Coast ), CumaliBulduk ( Turkey ), Mawaran ( singing, Lebanon ) , Yacir Rami ( oud, Morocco )…

He also appears as a guest in other horizons with Fred Wesley, Zap Mama, Didier Laloy, Karim Baggili, Salvatore Adamo, Sttellla, William Sheller, Khadja Nin, Dick Annegarn, Clarika , The Guilty Brothers Experience, Oxymore …