Cédric Hanriot, who commands the capacities of musician, composer, arranger and music producer is regarded as one of the most exciting and daring jazz artists of his generation. With a performance schedule that brings him around the globe to recognized jazz venues and music award events, Hanriot’s refreshingly original sound demonstrates that he is fast becoming one of the most influential young composers and players to enter the scene.

Hanriot has worked with some of the most renowned American jazz musicians from our time such as Dianne Reeves, Herbie Hancock, John Patitucci, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Terri Lyne Carrington.

Cedric makes his position on the history and present of this vital music known with the following statement, “The music I am willing to offer is a music of our era – a music that takes its influences in the Afro-American heritage and European classical tradition but also in the innovations created by the recent music genders like the hip  hop and electronic musics.”

An important particularity of Hanriot’s music is the level of risk he is willing to take on stage, in the studio and in his compositions. Hanriot’s perception of the jazz he plays is that it is truly a music of the present moment, that is created in that moment. As sax legend Greg Osby said, “Hanriot takes a lot more chances and ventures beyond his boundaries a lot more than most jazz artists. He is not afraid to push his musical frontiers at any moment, allowing himself to access the forbidden and unimaginable. This lets Hanriot discover new, unexplored musical paths and sounds.

Cedric Hanriot loves also to layer different musical textures, he combines the acoustic piano with keyboard sounds, samples and electronically generated sounds that he can manipulate in real time with his computer. After only 8 years of piano, Hanriot recorded his first album French Stories is a daring, hip hop infused, acoustic jazz with a touch of electro power house, with the rock solid  Terri Lyne Carrington and John Patitucci holding down the fort.The solidity of his accompanists serves to high light the musical acrobatics of Hanriot as he pushes the moment to its breaking point, taking risks both on the record and when he plays it live. The release received an unanimous response of surprise and appreciation from the press. The disc is on the TSF playlist and on the planes of Air France. France Infos describes the disc as ìUn coup de coeurî and the CD release concert with Terri Line Carrington was retransmitted on France Musiques.

His other project groOovematic created at the beginning of 2011 with bassist Bertrand Beruard and drummer Jean-Baptiste Pinet, offers a unique mix of jazz, electro, groove and pop. The group has  accumulated a massive amount of performance time together on the international stages of Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Argentina, Uruguay and Europe.

In his latest project City of Poets, Hanriot joins forces with American trumpeter Jason Palmer featuring an all-star cast of musicians in saxophonist Donny McCaslin, bassist Michael Janisch and drummer Clarence Penn in a musical homage to the work of science fiction writer Dan Simmons. Hanriot and Palmer have composed a suite of three movements using seven distinct melodies based on the famed “7 modes of limited transportation” created by influential French composer Olivier Messiaen to translate Simmon’s stories into original and improvisational music.

Hanriot has been involved in a number of releases from other artists including Terri Lyne Carrington, where he was featured along side such artists as Danilo Pérez, George Duke and Christian McBride. He also had the honor to participate in the new album of singer Dianne Reeves “Beautiful Life” for which he has worked with, among others, Robert Glasper, George Duke and Esperanza Spalding.

Hanriot is a clinician who gives masterclasses and workshops in Europe at the Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood (CMDL) in Melun, F and at the Music Academy International (Partner school of Berklee College of Music) in Nancy, F, as well as throughout the world such as in Asia and North and South America.