The French pianist Enzo Carniel was born in 1987. He began learning the piano at an early age, and discovered jazz during his teenage years.
After five years studying medicine at Marseille University, Carniel decided to devote himself completely to music, and in 2009 graduated with highest honours from the Marseille Conservatoire.
Carniel went on to study jazz and improvised music at the Paris Conservatoire, where he also played in a trio and as a soloist. He took a keen interest in contemporary music, composition and arrangement, and these influences and experiences led to him founding the quartet House of Echo. An album released by the quartet in 2013 included lengthy improvised tracks as well as original compositions.
Influenced by Paul Bley, Thelonious Monk, Keith Jarrett and the great jazz pianists of the past, Carniel explores the sound world and intrinsic musical possibilities of the piano. His approach is based on the birth of musical ideas in the moment, in aesthetic non-judgement and a ‘raw’ approach to improvisation which makes use of all his influences and senses.
Enzo Carniel has performed in numerous festivals, among them the Tangier Jazz Festival in Morocco, the Eclat d’Email in Limoges, the Porquerolles Jazz Festival, Jazz à la Villette, Toulon Jazz Festival, the Festival d’Art Lyric in Aix-en-Provence and the Avignon Festival. In 2013, with the trumpeter Nicolas Folmer, he took part in a tour of over a dozen African countries.