Bernard Vitet

Bernard Vitet, (born 26 May 1934 in Paris, died 3 July 2013) was a French trumpetist and composer, co-founder of the first free jazz band in France (1964) together with François Tusques, Michel Portal Unit (1972) and Un Drame Musical Instantané with Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé in 1976.

He belongs to the first meeting between jazz and contemporary music with Bernard Parmegiani and Jean-Louis Chautemps. In the 60's, he accompanies singers Serge Gainsbourg, Barbara, Yves Montand, Claude François, Brigitte Bardot, Marianne Faithfull, Colette Magny, Brigitte Fontaine. He plays with famous jazz musicians such as Lester Young, Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Lacy, Gato Barbieri, Jean-Luc Ponty, Martial Solal... In his early years he was lucky enough to perform with Django Reinhardt, Gus Viseur, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler...

Under his own name he records Surprise-partie avec Bernard Vitet (on trombone!), La Guêpe on texts by Francis Ponge, Mehr Licht!, and about 200 other records with those mentioned above plus Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, Georges Arvanitas, Sunny Murray, Michel Pascal, Alan Silva, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Hubert Rostaing, Alix Combelle, Ivan Jullien, Christian Chevalier, Jef Gilson, Jack Diéval, Jac Berrocal, Hélène Sage... and 17 albums with Un drame musical instantané. In 1995, he co-signs the songs of Carton with Birgé, with whom he collaborates on music for films, exhibitions, CD-Roms...

Bernard Vitet invents instruments such as a reed trumpet, a multiphonic French horn, a variable tension double-bass, the dragoon which is a giant balafon with frying pans and flower pots keyboard, a clever system of modal clocks, and astonishing musical objects for Georges Aperghis, Tamia, Françoise Achard... Besides trumpet he sings, plays flugelhorn, piano and violin.

He composes theatre music for Jean-Marie Serrault... and for films (Les coeurs verts by Édouard Luntz, L'ombre de la pomme by Robert Lapoujade with Jean-Louis Chautemps, Bof by Claude Faraldo in collaboration with Jean Guérin, La femme-bourreau by Jean-Denis Bonan...).

From 1976 to 2008, he devotes himself essentially to Un Drame Musical Instantané with Jean-Jacques Birgé.