Manu Katche, a drummer for contemporary jazz, rose to prominence as a leader and drummer after playing with many popular musicians. He was born in Saint Maur Des Fosses (France) on October 27, 1958. At the age of seven, he learned classical piano in Paris and enrolled at Conservatorie Nationale de Paris at age 15. After that, he became a session drummer and concert drummer for a variety of bands. However, Katche’s stock grew significantly in the mid-80s due to his involvement in the recording and touring projects of Peter Gabriel. After his debut French CD It’s About Time, Katche began a string of gigs as a backing musician. He has performed with a wide range of artists, including Joni Mitchell and Gloria Estefan, Johnny Hallyday and Michael McDonald. Simple Minds, Afro Celt Sound System. Jeff Beck, Al DiMeola. Tears for Fears, Dire Straits. Jan Garbarek. Loreena McKennitt. Youssou N’Dour. He has performed on many film soundtracks including Quand Les Etoiles and Le Demenagement, Mookies. Zone Franche, The Professional and For the Love of the Game. After releasing a demo for Zildjian’s cymbal company, in 1999, he joined ECM. He released his breakthrough recording, Neighbourhood with the help of labelmates Jan Garbarek and Tomasz Stanko and Stanko bandmembers Marcin Wailewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz. Dove Attia, Katche, Marianne James, and composer Andre Manoukian were the judges for Nouvelle Star, France’s version of American Idol. He was also a host for the One Shot Not monthly show. He also collaborated with Gibonni, the popular Croatian singer, on Mirakul (2001), and Unca Fibre (2006). Katche’s ECM sequel, Playground, was released in 2007 with the help of trumpeter Mathias Eick and saxophonist Trygve Selim. The Third Round album was followed by the self-titled album on ECM in 2010. Katche completed his ECM experience with Touchstone for Manu. He then moved to Anteprima for Unstatic 2016. Allmusic
