A Short Bio: | | Over the last twenty years, Sophia Domancich has become closely associated with the Canterbury scene in the hearts of its fans. Like fellow French citizen Patrice Meyer, she has worked with most of the key figures of the genre : Pip Pyle, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Greaves, Richard Sinclair, Phil Miller and Didier Malherbe all played with her at one point, often over a long period of time. Domancich started learning the piano at the age of six. In 1968, she entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, where she studied for seven years. Between 1976 and 1978, she earned her living as accompanist for singing and dance lessons in various academies of music, and also at the Caen theatre and the Opera de Paris. Her first contact with the jazz scene came in 1979 when she played improvised music with such jazz greats as Steve Lacy, Bernard Lubat and Jean-Louis Chautemps. In the early 80's, she worked extensively with band leader Laurent Cugny, both in piano duo and big band contexts (in the latter she met drummer Bruno Tocanne). She also played with various West-Indian and African combos and took part in the Quoi D'Neuf Docteur? big band which also featured Steve Grossman, Jack Walrath and Glenn Ferrys. In 1983, Sophia Domancich became acquainted with musicians from the Canterbury scene : Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Pip Pyle, the latter becoming her boyfriend for several years. The following year, she and Pip formed L'Equip'Out, a jazz band which went on to record two albums for which she provided most of the original material. In the meantime, Domancich continued to take part in various jazz bands, including the Trio Davenport, the Quartet Hors-Série, eventually forming her own jazz trio with double bass player Paul Rogers and drummer Bruno Tocanne, later replaced by Tony Levin. This line-up has released three albums to date. In 1990, Sophia Domancich was invited to perform with the reformed Hatfield and the North for a one-off TV show. She also joined John Greaves' backing band (also featuring Pip Pyle and guitarist François Ovide), playing on "La Petite Bouteille De Linge" and later the acoustic "Songs" (by which time Pyle had left and Rogers joined on double bass). In 1991, she left L'Equip'Out, and concentrated on her trio work with Rogers and Levin, which eventually gained a lot of attention from the specialised media. In 1997, she was offered to become the pianist in the prestigious Orchestre National de Jazz by its director, Didier Levallet - a major recognition at last! This lasted two years, and Domancich is now back to leading her own small group, now either a trio or a quintet, with Simon Goubert on drums and Claude Tchamitchian (double bass). She is also a member of Goubert's own quartet and sextet. |
