Cédric Hanriot

BIO (long):

French pianist, composer, producer and sound designer Cédric Hanriot has built a singular international career at the crossroads of jazz, contemporary music and sonic experimentation.

His deep roots in jazz are reflected in an impressive list of artists who have called upon him as a pianist, arranger, producer or sound designer. Over the years, he has played and worked with some of the most influential figures in contemporary jazz, including Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Peter Erskine, John Beasley, Minino Garay, Luis Salinas, Maria Mendes and the Metropole Orkest.

Hanriot notably contributed as pianist and sound designer to Dianne Reeves’ Beautiful Life, alongside artists including Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding and Gregory Porter. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2015. His work with Portuguese vocalist Maria Mendes has also contributed to projects recognized with Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations.

A musical language built across worlds

Driven by curiosity and a fascination for unexpected combinations, Hanriot has developed a personal and forward-thinking approach to crossover music. His musical language draws as naturally from the legacy of classical composers such as Fauré, Ravel, Debussy, Messiaen, Chopin and Bach as it does from contemporary electronic music, hip-hop — Common, Kendrick Lamar and J Dilla — neo-soul and pop-rock, while remaining deeply rooted in a strong and living jazz tradition shaped by figures such as Bud Powell, Erroll Garner, Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau.

Rather than treating these influences as separate worlds, Hanriot uses them as raw material for a single musical language — one in which improvisation, composition, groove, electronic textures and sound design continually interact.

A journey of exploration

Hanriot’s work as a leader reflects this constant search for new musical territories.

In 2009, he released his debut album, French Stories, in trio format, featuring Terri Lyne Carrington on drums and John Patitucci on bass. The album offered a bold and refined reinterpretation of classic French songs through the language of contemporary jazz.

In 2013, he co-founded City of Poets / Hyperion with trumpeter Jason Palmer, creating a quintet whose music explored exclusively the seven modes of Olivier Messiaen. Featuring Donny McCaslin, Clarence Penn and Michael Janisch, the project transformed Messiaen’s harmonic universe into a framework for composition and jazz improvisation.

In 2016, Hanriot recorded DAY, an intimate duo album with drummer Franck Agulhon, blending jazz, groove and electronic music in an exploration of rhythm, texture and sound.

In 2018, he created Polaroid Songs with bassist Bertrand Beruard, a jazz and world-music project initially conceived for sextet — jazz trio and string trio — and later expanded for symphony orchestra. Inspired by Béla Bartók’s concept of imaginary folklore, the project reimagines musical traditions from around the world through transformation, assimilation and improvisation.

This long process of exploration eventually led to TIME IS COLOR, Hanriot’s most personal synthesis to date: a genre-defying project in which jazz improvisation meets hip-hop, neo-soul, spoken word, synthesizers, electronic production and cinematic sound design.

For his own projects, Hanriot has invited and collaborated with an equally distinctive circle of artists, including Ibrahim Maalouf, Erik Truffaz, Donny McCaslin, Arthur H, Braxton Cook, Soweto Kinch and JSWISS.

TIME IS COLOR

TIME IS COLOR has attracted significant international attention. Time is Color Vol. 1 received five stars from BBC Music Magazine, a CHOC from Jazz Magazine, was named among MOJO’s Top 10 Albums of 2022, and was featured by NPR’s Jazz Night in America. “Souly Interlude” was also selected for Barack Obama’s Summer 2022 playlist.

The project’s next chapter, A Luminous World, continued this momentum, receiving another CHOC from Jazz Magazine in 2025.

Hanriot’s music has also earned recognition from some of the musicians who helped shape his own artistic language. Herbie Hancock has praised the originality of his work and encouraged him to continue exploring new musical territories, while Terri Lyne Carrington has highlighted his unusual combination of performance, arranging and sound-design skills.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Hanriot approaches music not only as a pianist, but as a composer, producer and sonic architect. Across nearly two decades of projects, the common thread has remained the same: a deep grounding in jazz combined with an instinctive desire to connect musical worlds that are rarely brought together.

From Messiaen’s modes and Bartók-inspired imaginary folklore to hip-hop beats, neo-soul, electronics and contemporary jazz improvisation, Cédric Hanriot has developed a distinctive musical identity — one that draws on tradition not as a boundary, but as a point of departure.

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BIO (short):

French pianist, composer, producer and sound designer Cédric Hanriot has built a singular international career bridging jazz, contemporary music and sonic experimentation.

A sought-after collaborator, he has been called upon by leading figures including Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington and Peter Erskine. He contributed as pianist and sound designer to Dianne Reeves’ Beautiful Life, winner of the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and to projects with Maria Mendes recognized with Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations.

Driven by curiosity and unexpected combinations, Hanriot draws from classical composers such as Ravel, Debussy and Messiaen, contemporary hip-hop and neo-soul, and a deep jazz tradition. This exploration has shaped projects ranging from French Stories, featuring Terri Lyne Carrington and John Patitucci, to the Messiaen-inspired City of Poets / Hyperion, DAY, Polaroid Songs and, most recently, TIME IS COLOR.

Blending jazz improvisation with hip-hop, neo-soul, electronics and cinematic sound design, TIME IS COLOR has featured collaborators including Ibrahim Maalouf, Erik Truffaz, Donny McCaslin, Braxton Cook, Soweto Kinch and JSWISS. The project has earned two CHOC awards from Jazz Magazine, five stars from BBC Music Magazine, a place in MOJO’s Top 10 Albums of 2022, and recognition from NPR and Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist.

A Berklee College of Music graduate, Hanriot has developed a distinctive musical identity that draws on tradition not as a boundary, but as a point of departure.

Performance credits

Europe

France: Jazz à Vienne, Jazz in Marciac, Jazz à la Villette, Jazz à Crest, l’Arsenal/Metz, La Défense Jazz Festival, Jazz à Juan, Théâtre de Caen, La Filature/Mulhouse, Nancy Jazz Pulsations, Opéra de Lyon

UK: Love Supreme Festival, Ronnie’s Scott/London, Scarborough Jazz Festival

Europe: Philharmonie de Luxembourg, Bimhuis/Amsterdam, Ystad Jazz Festival/Sweden, Odessa Jazz Festival/Ukraine, Schloss Elmau/Germany, Colors of Ostrava/Czech Republic, Zagreb Jazz Festival/Croatia

Americas

USA/Canada: All Classical Radio/Portland, the Kennedy Center/DC, the Iridium/NYC, Tanglewood Jazz Festival/MA, Vancouver and Victoria Jazz Festivals/Canada

Latin America: Europa Jazz/Mexico, Teatro Solis/Uruguay

Asia

Japan: Motion Blue, Pit Inn, Star Eyes

China: Blue Note Shanghai, Blue Note Beijing, JZ Festival

South Korea: Jarasum Jazz Festival

Taiwan: National Theater & Concert Hall

Awards

57th Grammy Awards / best jazz vocal album with Dianne Reeves, album “Beautiful Life” – Grammy winning album

66th Grammy Awards / best arrangement, instruments&vocals with Maria Mendes & John Beasley, song “Com Que Voz” – Grammy Nomination

French American Jazz Exchange / for the project “City of Poets” with Jason Palmer, Donny McCaslin, Clarence Penn and Michael Janisch

Fulbright Grant / music category, for my music studies at the Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA.

Collaborations

Dianne Reeves, Herbie Hancock, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ibrahim Maalouf, John Patitucci, Donny McCaslin, Erik Truffaz, Metropol Orkestra, Maria Mendes, John Beasley, Peter Erskine, Mike Mainieri, Soweto Kinch, Matthew Garrison, Florin Nicolescu, Luis Salinas, Melissa Aldana, Tineke Postma, Nelson Veras, Wayne Escoffery, Tim Miller, Michael Janisch, Braxton Cook, Jason Palmer, Gregoire Maret, Clarence Penn, Otis Brown III, André Ceccarelli, Paco Sery, Arthur H.

Record Labels

Masterclasses

Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood (France), Royal Academy of Arts (London/England), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), Indiana University (USA), Royal Conservatory of Scotland (Scotland)

Partnerships