Pierre Cullaz (21 July 1935 – 1 January 2014) was a French jazz guitarist and cellist. Pierre Cullaz was the son of Maurice Cullaz, a jazz writer, and the older brother of Alby Cullaz. After he learned piano and cello in 1949, he moved to guitar as his main instrument. In 1955, he started his professional career with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, and Hal Singer. Two years later he worked with Michel Hausser, then

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Claude Bolling Claude Bolling (10 April 1930 – 29 December 2020) was a French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Biography He was born in Cannes, France, and studied at the Nice Conservatory, and then in Paris. A child prodigy, by the ...

and

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

. After military service, he became a

studio musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

. He worked with

Martial Solal Martial Solal (23 August 1927 – 12 December 2024) was a French jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Solal was born in Algiers, French Algeria on 23 August 1927, to Algerian Jewish parents. He was persuaded to study clarinet, saxophone, ...

and Eddy Louiss and beginning in 1965 was a member of the band Guitars Unlimited. He formed Guitars Unlimited with Victor Apicella, Raymond Gimenez, Francis Lemaguer, and Tony Rallo. The band recorded for Barclay. Other collaborators included

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

, Andre Hodeir,

Ivan Jullien Ivan Jullien (October 27, 1934 – January 3, 2015) was a French jazz trumpeter. Jullien played with Claude Bolling and Jacques Denjean early in his career, and was the bandleader for the Paris Jazz All Stars in 1966-1967. He recorded as a leader ...

, Guy Lafitte. Cullaz also taught guitar and wrote a method book. He accompanied singer

Claude Nougaro Claude Nougaro (, ; 9 September 1929 – 4 March 2004) was a French jazz singer and poet. Life and career Claude Nougaro was born on 9 September 1929 in Toulouse to a respected French opera singer, Pierre Nougaro, and a piano teacher, Liette ...

and was an arranger for

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

. Besides being a musician, he taught at the CIM in Paris and wrote the textbook ''Methode de Guitare''.

Sources

* Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian. ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'', 8th Edition, London, Penguin, 2006 * Feather, Leonard and Gitler, Ira. ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Oxford/New York, 1999

References

External links

Portrait
at Midi Libre * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullaz, Pierre 1935 births 2014 deaths Musicians from Paris French jazz guitarists French male guitarists 20th-century French guitarists 20th-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians 20th-century French cellists