BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1994 in St-Raphaël (France)

Théo Zipper is a musician, bassist and composer.

Son of an architect father and a painter mother, shape and movement have always been a fascination for him.

Théo Zipper grows up in the south of France, where he begins his musical career. First attracted by rock and funk music, he discovers jazz and, when he's 16, he quits studies to join a professional jazz school (IMFP).

Already in a composition research, he will there meet great music teachers (Francesco Castellani, Gerard Maurin, Lilian Bencini...) who will suggest him different ways to explore, and the importance of immersing himself in the practice of art.

He took lessons from Richard Bona, Laurent Coq, and Gilles Coquard and also performing in big ensemble concerts with

Vincent Laffont (ONJ), and Louis Winsberg. The end of this period is marked by a jam-session with Didier Lockwood and Mike Stern.

In 2013, he leaves South of France to settle in Brussels to try to soak the energy of this dynamic city. Admitted at the Royal Conservatory, he stays there for a few weeks, where he takes classes with Benoît Vandersraaten.

Motivated by the idea of playing around his own compositions, meeting the three essential Max Fortin, Yannick Jacquet and Lucas Vanderputten is enough to give life to this music. Things work out and the Théo Zipper Quartet records his first album "FAITH".

Fully composed and produced by Théo Zipper but driven by a band spirit, between composition and improvisation the only real approach is to "play in the instant, look for the vibration, be true".

The band spent two years of promoting that album in numerous venues : Jazz Station, Theatre Marni, Bravo, Sounds Jazz Club, The Music Village, Jazz en Baie, main stage on the Grand'Place, and a bunch of concerts in Anvers, Liège and Marseille...

More and more in demand as a sideman, Théo joined a new adventure : Aleph Quintet. A collective who creates and plays a crossover between jazz, groove and Arabic music. Since 2018, the band tour extensively between Belgium, Tunisia and France.

As a leader, Théo bring new musicians around his music. A new quintet which put on the frontline the soulful trumpet-flugelhorn player: Aristide d'Agostino and the electrified Abel Jednak on alto saxophone. The band goes back to the studio to work on a new record: "Sauvage". To be released soon.

In 2020, Théo releases his first solo bass album. 'Impromptu' is a collection of improvisations, recorded in one night only.

Alone with his instrument and a bunch of electronic gear, the bass player creates the soundtrack of his mind exploring obsessive loops, meditative improvisations, and ambiant vibes.

Théo says : « I wanted to slow things and to capture what really happen from the inside. Trance, contemplation, doubts, even mistakes. When I perform this particular music I don’t try to reach a specific goal, that climax thing. Is there a climax in life ? I see it more like a long crescendo until the end. As we say, the road can be more important than the destination. »

Awards & Prizes

Journées Musicales de Carthage 2019 (w/ Aleph Quintet)
Tanit d'Argent - 2nd Prize

Dar Eyquem Prize
Brussels Jazz Marathon 2016

1st Prize - Best Band
Public Prize