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Pianist, organist, composer, arranger and conductor Andy Emler is the founder of the MegaOctet, an eclectic, improvisational ensemble. Born in Paris on March 12, 1958, he studied classical piano and organ with Marie-Louise Boëllmann, daughter of composer Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897). In 1976, he turned away from classical music to form a progressive rock band called Abyose, before returning to his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur to enrich his background in harmony and counterpoint, where he won a first prize. In addition to orchestration lessons with Marius Constant, he met Antoine Hervé, and with him turned to improvisation in his big band. He formed a quintet in 1984 and began collaborating with Michel Portal, then François Jeanneau, who hired him in the first Orchestre National de Jazz in 1986. In 1989, Andy Emler formed the MegaOctet, a ten-piece ensemble with whom he has given free rein to his creativity over the decades and on a number of recordings. At the same time, the pianist divides his time between collaborations with the crème de la crème of modern jazz and trio albums with his faithful accompanists Claude Tchamitchian and Eric Echampard. The result is Tee Time (2003), A Quelle Distance Sommes-Nous? (2006), Pause (2011), Sad and Beautiful (2014) and Running Backwards (2017). Among other collective achievements, he invites Dave Liebman on Sombritude (1999) and Journey Around the Truth (2019) and invites the Orchestre Victor-Hugo, Ensemble Nomos, Quatuor Morphing and PercuDuo for the ambitious Hopen Air (2016). In 2020, Emler surrounds himself with Nguyên Lê, Géraldine Laurent, Ballaké Sissoko, Thomas de Pourquery, Naïssam Jalal and Rhoda Scott on No Solo, produced in his fetish studio at La Buissonne, in Pernes-les-Fontaine (Vaucluse). In 2025, Le Temps Est Parti Pour Rester is another liberating, conceptual exercise in climate change, produced with a team including Thomas Savy, Louis Sclavis, Laurent Dehors, Tchamitchian and Echampard.
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