Band leader, trumpeter, composer

Born in 1965, Laurent Mignard had a varied musical training and got involved in most of the styles of the jazz. In 1998, he put the bases of a written and free music, beyond the styles, and makes a success of the fusion between a jazz trio and a cello quartet (album Face a Face 1998).

From 2002, he extended his researches with a Pocket Quartet and proposed an original esthetics fed by the influences of Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry and Duke Ellington (albums Suites, Alter Tropicus and Good News).

• Revelation 2005 festival Jazz à Juan, 1st price jazz instrumental
• Laureate of the jazz Competition La Defense 2002

Since 2003, he has been leading the Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra, a dream team of 15 musicians, at the heart of exceptional repertoire of Duke Ellington. The more it’s played the hotter it gets! That’s why Laurent Mignard and Paul Bessone (label Juste une Trace) waited until 2009 to record and release Duke Ellington is Alive. This first little jewel went on to be acclaimed by the the « Duke Ellington Music Society » and awarded the “The Hot Club de France’s” Grand Prize the following year. In 2011 came Battle Royal, in partnership with the famous “Festival Jazz à Vienne” and Ellington French Touch, dedicated to relations between Duke Ellington and France. The press acclaims these projects. It followed that three concerts have been broadcast on the French TV TF1 and Mezzo. As for Paul Bessone, he granted license rights to Sony Music to enable the fame of the orchestra to spread throughout the world with «Ellington French Touch».

To celebrate the 40’th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s heritage, Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra and Mercedes Ellington presented the Duke Ellington Sacred Concert on October 1st, 2014 in the church of Madeleine – Paris. More than 1.200 people were united in the same fervor by the dream-team of the Duke Orchestra, Mercedes Ellington, the vocalists Emmanuel Pi Djob, Nicolle Rochelle and Sylvia Howard, the tap dancer Fabien Ruiz and more than 120 chorists. Then show toured in french cathedrals in 2015.

In 2018, Laurent Mignard presented Jazzy Poppins, a musical live show in French based on « Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins » by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. The original album featured arrangements of songs from the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins. Since this program was never staged, an tremendous live show has been produced by Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra, considered as the best ellingtonian ambassador. This “Jazzy Poppins” may reach a wide audience, from neophytes to jazz fans, as an opportunity to (re)discover an exceptional and timeless work. « Fabulous! » (Mercedes Ellington).

In 2021 and 2022, Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra pays tribute to women with Duke Ladies vol.1 & vol.2. The orchestra’s jazzwomen (Aurélie Tropez and Julie Saury) welcome eight invited artists including Natalie Dessay, Rhoda Scott and Roberta Gambarini. Once again, the press acclaims this new project.

As a composer, Laurent Mignard is inspired by Ellington, Ornette Coleman, Debussy, Dutilleux, Takemitsu in search of the balance between serenity and surprise, beyond the traditional tonal laws.

He is the current chairman of La Maison du Duke (Duke’s Place in Paris) in order to federate all the Duke’s fans and experts. He provides training at the Institut des Métiers de la Musique, gives lectures on the theme of leadership (Duke Ellington Attitude – Orchestrating Talent) and defends the jazz in Grand Ensemble with the federation Grands Formats.

Stage references : Radio France, festival Jazz à Vienne, Shanghai Spring festival, Opera Bejing, festival Liban Jazz Beirut, Guiness Jazz festival (Cork-Irland), Tournai Jazz (Belgium), Jazz sous les Pommiers … théâtre du Châtelet, Olympia Paris, french cathedrals (Saint Sulpice, La Madeleine …), Opéra Limoges, Fondation Maeght … TF1, France 2, France 3, Mezzo, France Inter, France Musique, France Info, TSF jazz …

Discography