Alexandre Cahen is a pianist, composer and improviser based in Strasbourg. His music moves between jazz, contemporary composition and free improvisation, exploring how written structures can remain open to collective transformation and improvisation. Listening, movement and the tension between order and uncertainty lie at the centre of his work.
His music takes shape through projects of contrasting scales, including The Art of Flying, his duo with vocalist Patricija Škof, and Monde(s), created with guitarist Martin Theurillat. Alongside his own projects, Cahen collaborates with artists and bands like the Hugo Diaz Quartet, the Emilio Giovanoli Quintet, Fred Frith, the Basel Jazz Orchestra.
With the Hugo Diaz Quartet, he received first prize at Un Doua de Jazz and the audience award at the Avignon Jazz Festival. The quartet’s debut album, Confluences, was released in 2024 and received wide critical attention in the French press.
Alexandre has been playing at festivals and venues throughout France and Europe, including Sons d’Hiver, Jazzdor Festival, Instants Chavirés, Jazz à Vienne, Jazz Station Bruxelles, Duc des Lombards, Sunside Jazz Club, Moods Club, Bird’s Eye Jazz Club and Jamboree Jazz Club.
After initially completing a bachelor’s degree in medical studies, Cahen studied jazz in Strasbourg and at Jazzcampus Basel, where he earned a master’s degree in music performance and a master’s degree in music composition. During this period, he studied under the mentorship of Guillermo Klein, Fred Frith, Eric Watson, and Caspar Johannes Walter.