Abdelhaï Bennani

French saxophonist, born in Fez (Morocco) in 1950, Abdelhaï Bennani was initiated in childhood into simple traditional rhythms, participating in celebrations. Around ten or eleven years old, he discovered Western music on the radio and jazz records. But it was some years later, through the records of Jimi Hendrix, he met a popular music using improvisation as a form of expression. After obtaining his baccalaureate, he went to Marseille to study biology. At the end of his studies, he realizes that music is for him, indispensable to communication. Also, at the age of thirty, he decided to devote himself to the saxophone and moved to Paris. From 1983-1985, he attended the IACP (Institute Art Culture Perception) and met with it's founder, Alan Silva. But, very attached to his culture where the mode of transmission is by oral tradition, he rejects the written score and also encounters trouble finding musicians to accompany him. Abdelhaï Bennani died on August 21, 2015 in Paris, France.