Born in Martinique in December 1984, Grégory Privat is the son of pianist José Privat, known for his participation in the internationally renowned Caribbean group Malavoi. Attracted to the piano from an early age, he began taking private lessons at the age of six and was classically trained for ten years before turning to improvisational techniques and jazz.
An engineering student in Toulouse, he breaks out at night to play in some of the city’s jazz clubs. Later, in Paris, Grégory Privat, with an engineering degree in his pocket, continued to cultivate his passion for the stage. During this period in the early 2000s, the pianist crossed paths with other musicians such as Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Stéphane Belmondo, Guillaume Perret and Sonny Troupé.
Eager to find his place in the world of jazz, Grégory Privat participated in the Montreux Jazz Festival piano competition in 2008 and the Martial Solal Competition in 2010, in which he reached the semifinals. The following year saw the release of his first album under his own name, Ki Koté. The esteemed success of this first work of personal compositions encourages him to continue on this path.
In September 2013, he released the album Tales of Cyparis, inspired by the story of Louis-Auguste Cyparis, the only inmate who survived the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 and was later hired by the Barnum Circus. The critically acclaimed project places Grégory Privat among the most relevant musicians of the new jazz scene. A status confirmed by the January 2015 release of his third album Luminescence, in a duo with Sonny Troupé, a faithful partner and great master of gwoka music. The album is nominated at the 2015 Victoires du Jazz in the “Revelation of the Year – Frank-Ténot Award” category.
In 2015 Grégory became the new pianist in the Liberetto quartet of Swedish double bassist Lars Danielsson, who encouraged him to sign with the ACT label. In October 2016, his first trio album Family Tree (with Tilo Bertholo on drums and Linley Marthe on bass) was released on this prestigious label.
Three years later, seeking artistic freedom and independence, Grégory founded his own Buddham Jazz label and in 2020 produced and recorded the album Soley with Chris Jennings on bass and Tilo Bertholo on drums.
In 2022 Grégory Privat released his first solo album, Yonn. In this intimate production, she combines her own voice with piano, reflecting her recent journey through the pandemic and the periods of confinement that marked her.
In 2023 he received the Adami Award as “Artist to Watch” during Artists’ Night. In the same year a solo improvisation album, Nuit & Jour, recorded in Marseille for the Paradis Improvisé label, was released.
In 2024 Grégory Privat released Phoenix, a new trio album that he considers a continuation of Soley, and received the Jazz Academy’s Django Reinhardt Award in the same year.
