Paris 2019 Charity Art Exhibition

Didier Malherbe
Didier Malherbe was born in Paris, France, in 1943. He studied the saxophone after hearing Bloomdido
by Charlie Parker, and then classical flute after a trip to India. In1969 he met Daevid Allen and was asked
to join Gong, an underground community group that fused rock, jazz and psychedelia. Didier was a member of
different Gong incarnations until leaving in 1978 to return to Paris, where he created a jazz-rock fusion band
called BLOOM. This eventually became FATON BLOOM when ex-Magma keyboardist Francois Cahen joined.
In 1989 Didier decided to go solo, producing several albums that mixed different styles of music
from around the world. During this period Didier started to play with Loy Ehrlich and in 1996 they formed
Hadouk, a name that evokes two instruments, the hajouj and the doudouk. Together they elaborated
an acoustic project and the “Vegetal Groove” sound.
The duo became a trio with the arrival of Steve Shehan on percussion. They produced seven albums
and in 2007 they received a prestigious “Victoires du Jazz” (Jazz Victory) award for best group of the year.
The “world-jazz” of Hadouk allowed Didier to perfect his doudouk playing and to incorporate
other unusual wind instruments like the zeff, the khen, the hulusi and even the ocarina.
The Hadouk Trio has now become Hadouk and their recent album entitled “Le cinquième fruit”
(the 5th fruit) further highlights Didier’s excellent woodwind playing, where he effortlessly
changes between soprano saxophone, duduk, hulusi and alto flute.
Didier Malherbe is also a poet and has published two books of sonnets,
“L’Anche des Métamorphoses” and “Escapade en Facilie”.
www.didiermalherbe.com