Henri Texier

At the age of sixteen, fascinated by the double bass, Texier became a self-taught bassist, crediting Wilbur Ware most as an influence. He formed his first group with Georges Locatelli, Alain Tabar-Nouval, Jean-Max Albert, and Klaus Hagel, inspired by the music of Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman. In spite of an almost absence of recorded documents this group represents one of the first expressions of free jazz in France (1965).
From 1968 to 1972, Texier was a member of Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine, along with George Gruntz, Gordon Beck and Daniel Humair. Throughout the 1970s, Texier remained active in Europe on the jazz scene, performing with musicians such as John Abercrombie and Didier Lockwood, among others. In 1982, he formed a quartet with Louis Sclavis. With the trio Romano-Sclavis-Texier, he collaborated in three albums having for theme Africa as seen by the photographer Guy Le Querrec: Carnet de routes, Suite africaine and African Flashback.