Didier Verna

Born in 1970, Didier Verna gets involved in music at the age of 5. He studies music theory for two years at the conservatory and learns successively percussions, classical piano, classical guitar. At 13, he discovers Jazz and studies harmony and improvisation for 3 years with French guitarist Denis Gouzil. At 18, he starts playing in Bordeaux in various bands, like a guitar octet with Denis Gouzil and Yves Carbonne (Compagnie Lubat, Carbonne / di Piazza / Manring). At the age of 21, he moves to Paris and continues his Jazz formation as a self-taught, multiplying musical experiences both in bands (from trio to septet, or even in a guitar sextet with a rythm section) and in styles (jazz rock, modern jazz, brazilian...). Meanwhile, he develops a vocal jazz technique very much inspired from the work of Bobby Mc Ferrin and begins giving voice solo sessions. In 2001, he meets pianist Thierry Lalo and creates with him a piano / vocal duet, an adaptation and extension of his solo vocal work to a total improvisation duel. In 2002, he enters the Voice Messengers where he sings as a tenor, and meets great personalities of contemporary Jazz, such as Antoine Hervé and Glenn Ferris. In 2006, he gets back to his main instrument and creates the @-quartet, with Gilles Naturel, Guillaume Naud and David Georgelet; a band that he equips with a repertoire of original compositions and with which he releases his first recording. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.