Erik Truffaz

Combining cool jazz with the influence of hip-hop grooves and various strands of electronica, trumpeter Erik Truffaz emerged in the ’90s as one of modern jazz’s most distinctive voices on an international level. Born in Switzerland in 1960, Truffaz was drawn to music at an early age by his sax-playing father. They began performing together when Erik was just a child, and in his teens the artful understatement of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue rocked his world, profoundly affecting his musical direction. As a young man, he recorded with the disparate likes of Swiss rockers The Needles and Brazilian jazzers Cruzeiro do Sul before releasing his first album on the Swiss label Plainisphare in 1992. He soon signed with Blue Note, with late-’90s albums like The Dawn and Bending New Corners helping to establish him at the forefront of jazz/dance music crossover. With his minimalist phrasing and his passion for blending jazz with dance beats and international influences, Truffaz has ventured far and wide, working with jazz veterans like Ben Sidran, younger artists such as José James, and artists outside the jazz realm, including British singer/songwriter Ed Harcourt.