I had heard Jimmy Cobb live before and was shocked to hear the drums sound like that live, and getting to play with him felt surreal. I played the way I play, but my stuff never sounded so good than with his comping underneath. As for Joe Cohn, he’s the one that intimidates me the most, as his ears are out of this world. He not only hears everything I play, but everything I am trying to play, and everything I could/should play! – Félix Lemerle
I was first “introduced” to Félix Lemerle while trying to find a way to reach out to the great Joe Cohn. Turns out Joe is somewhat of a recluse online and it is usually Félix who takes care of his social media platforms. After a small chat with Félix I realized that he too was a great player deserving of wider recognition so I was delighted when he accepted my invitation to do a featured interview.
In this interview, Félix shares with us his early days, his influences, his guitar collection, his thoughts on living and working in New York City, his working with the legendary Jimmy Cobb and so much more. So sit back and enjoy this fine interview…
But first…
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JGL: Thank you Félix for taking the time to talk to Jazz Guitar Life. First off, if we can get into a little background about you that would be great. How old are you?
FL: A great pleasure to be featured on Jazz Guitar Life! I’ve been reading a few of your interviews on there over the years. I’m 36.
JGL: Thanks for the kind words Félix, they are greatly appreciated 🙂 Now, for those who are unaware of you, could you give Jazz Guitar Life readers an elevator pitch of who Félix Lemerle is?
FL: I’ve been a professional jazz guitar player for almost two decades, and I guess I would describe myself stylistically as a bebopper.
JGL: Nice and whereabouts are you located?
FL: I am from Paris, France, but I’ve been living in New York City for the past ten years.
JGL: Nice!! Two great cultural cities that are world renowned. Speaking of culture, I’ve read that you started out at a young age on the piano and were trained as a Classical pianist before you switched over to the guitar. Once on guitar, were you interested in jazz from the beginning or were there other musical interests before jazz? How did you find your way to this particular music and instrument and why didn’t you continue in the Classical music world?
FL: I switched to guitar because of Nirvana! But soon after, I got really into jazz music when my father hipped me to John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” and never looked back. I never was a proficient rock player and truly learned to play the guitar as I was exploring jazz music. Piano faded away as I felt more of a connection to guitar when improvising. I still listen to classical music, but not as much as I do jazz.
JGL: I can understand that. Now…can you recall a particular moment that first excited you about jazz guitar or jazz in general? The one that made you say “that’s what I want to do”!
FL: When I was little, I was obsessed with a couple jazz albums: Bud Powell’s Verve box set with Tempus Fugit & Celia and Miles Davis’s “Relaxin’”. I was also part of a children jazz choir, Les P’tits Loups du Jazz, with whom we sang jazz tunes with silly French lyrics. But it’s when my dad, jazz bass player Dominique Lemerle, gave me John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” when I was 15 or 16 that I really got into jazz, and started listening avidly to everybody. At first, I wasn’t much into guitarists, and I thought I should switch to piano. Then I heard Wes Montgomery and René Thomas, and they knocked me out. Both of them guided my way, especially René Thomas who I tried to emulate for years.
JGL: Nice. And that seques nicely into my next question Félix…who were your influences on jazz guitar when you were beginning, and have they stayed the same or have they changed over the years? Who are you listening to today (guitarists or non-guitarists)?
FL: I was very much into Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, and René Thomas. Through René Thomas, my late mentor René Mailhes, and my first guitar teacher Pierre Cullaz, I got hooked on Jimmy Raney, then Jim Hall. I also used to listen to John Scofield a lot, even though you wouldn’t be able to tell from my playing. Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time with bop guitarists like Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Tal Farlow, Billy Bean, Ronnie Singer, and Jimmy Gourley. Then some of the swing players – Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, Al Casey, Billy Butler, Tiny Grimes, Bill Jennings, Teddy Bunn.
For the past few years, I’ve been exploring the earlier guitarists – Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough, Nick Lucas… Of the guitarists still on the scene, Joe Cohn was – and still is – a major influence on me; his ears and brains scare me! Chris Flory has also been instrumental in my recent development. And of course, Peter Bernstein – although I try to avoid copying him, since his personality is so strong – and Pasquale Grasso – who showed me that some things I thought were impossible on the instrument weren’t, I was just lazy! There are so many guitarists that influence me, and I feel like I’m forgetting names. And that’s just guitarists – don’t get me started on pianists, saxophonists, trumpet players, bassists…
JGL: LOL…I hear ya Félix! In the same vein, who has been most influential in your life as a Jazz Guitarist and why?
FL: It’s hard to pick a single person. I would probably say Jimmy Gourley. I got to hear him live many times as a child in Paris as my father was his regular bass player, and even though I wasn’t much into jazz at the time, it must have left an impression on me. I got to conduct his last interview for my student radio show Jazz & Co on Radio Campus Paris just before his passing. There is a biography of him coming up soon, which I am very excited about.
JGL: Wow…very cool that you got to talk to him. I know of him but not too familiar with his playing. I’ll need to check him out more. So, Wwhat was your first guitar and what are you playing now?
FL: My father got me my first guitar at 15 – a white Squier Strat, to look like Jimi Hendrix! My first real jazz guitar was a 1937 Gibson ES-150 “Charlie Christian”, which I got at 19 when I was trying to copy René Thomas, Jimmy Raney, and Jimmy Gourley, who all played that model. It was my main guitar until I was 26, when switched to a 1951 Gibson L-7C with a McCarty pickup, with which I’ve recorded all my albums as a sideman to date and my debut album. These days, those guitars are gone. I’m alternating between two L-5, a 1938 acoustic with a 1960 DeArmond RC1000 mounted with round wound strings, and a 1957 CES with currently a neck P-90 mounted with flat wound strings.
JGL: Some nice company you keep…lol. Is there anyone – alive or dead – who you’d love to play and/or record with and why?
FL: I’ll stick with people still alive as the list of dead people would be too long! I would like to record with the legendary New York drummer Steve Little who I have been playing with recently. He is turning 90 years old, and played and recorded with Duke Ellington. I love his cymbal beat and would love to immortalize it. I’m thinking of doing a trio recording soon with him and the great Neal Miner on bass – maybe with some guests?
JGL: That would indeed be something to listen to. Keep us posted. With all these plans, did you know early on that music was something you wanted to do as a career choice? What have you done to make this choice work for you?
FL: I graduated high school at 16, and had only played guitar for a year at that point. I ended up doing a degree in computer science, then realized that I had zero will of working in that field! I was starting to play gigs at the time, so I enrolled at the conservatory and dedicated myself full-time to this music. I was not working a lot in Paris besides small background music gigs and busking and felt frustrated with the scene. I visited New York in 2012 with my good friend pianist Samuel Lerner and soon realized that if I wanted to grow as a musician, I would need to move there for a while. It took me a couple years to get a scholarship to do my Masters; I moved there in 2014, and I’m still here as of 2025!
JGL: I have no doubt that the NYC Jazz Guitar Community welcomed you with open arms. You mentioned the year 2012. Well in that same year you won 1st prize at the 2012 Eddie Lang Guitar Contest in Italy and then in 2015 you won second place at the prestigious International Jarek Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków, Poland, judged by renowned guitarists John Abercrombie, Mike Stern and Ed Cherry no less. First off, congratulations on a “job” well done and secondly, what were the steps taken to get to that point? Were you working off a programme of your own choosing or were you directed by the competitions to perform certain pieces? What did you play and what was the preparation process like?
FL: Thank you! It was a mix of repertoire imposed by the organizers and songs we wanted to present. I brought songs I performed regularly and felt comfortable with, keeping in mind that we probably wouldn’t have much time to rehearse with the house rhythm section. I remember choosing Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Like Someone in Love”, Edward C. Redding’s “The End of a Love Affair”, and Keith Jarrett’s “So Tender” for the Eddie Lang Guitar Contest – then Turner Layton’s “After You’ve Gone” was the organizers’ choice.
For the Śmietana Competition, we had to play tunes written by the recently departed Jarek Śmietana, and I also chose Elmo Hope’s “De-Dah”, Arthur Schwartz’s “By Myself”, and John Abercrombie’s “Sweet Sixteen”. I had played that Abercrombie song for my recital in Paris and it was a special moment to play it for the composer himself, even if it felt like a bold move! A few of us got to hang out with him afterwards, and he was a very nice guy, very down to earth. It was a sad moment when he passed away a couple years after.
JGL: It sadly was but nice that you got to hang with him a little. I met him once and we had a great conversation about teh Jazz/Session player Joe Beck. In fact, it was John who told me to call Joe soon as he wasn’t doing well. I’m glad that I got the chance to talk with Joe before he passed. Back to the wards for a second…did these awards, apart from looking great on your musical resume, offer you greater opportunities that you may not have experienced otherwise?
FL: First of all, it brought me some money – the Śmietana Competition prize money allowed me to buy my L-7C! Those prizes did help with my artist visa to the US, and to an extent with my confidence – even though I don’t place much value into those kind of awards from an artistic standpoint, getting some recognition from players I admired was positive.
JGL: A truly positive experience all around then! And speaking of positive experiences, you have definitely followed a more formal academic route to get where you are today…from your early years graduating from the CRR de Paris with a Degree in Jazz & Improvised Music, to moving to New York City as a Fulbright Scholar – wow!! – to complete a Masters in Jazz Performance at CUNY Queens College to achieving an Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies at Juilliard. That’s a lot of learning!! LOL. Was all this study a strategic design on your part or did you fall into it more naturally?
FL: Well, my parents were okay with me abandoning my computer science path if I kept studying at the conservatory, so I obliged! Same thing for moving to New York. I couldn’t afford a school, so I looked into the Fulbright scholarship, and was lucky to be selected, which helped me pay for almost all of my degree. But my main motivation was to be in New York, even though I did learn things from my time at Queens College, especially from Paul Bollenback and David Wong. I got into the Juilliard Artist Diploma on my second try. It’s a very challenging program to get in, as they select only a handful of musicians to form an ensemble every two years, and usually get some people from their Masters’ program to complete the ensemble. I was interested in the school and studying with James Chirillo, and the fact that this degree was tuition-free was enticing. I didn’t really plan on going through such a lengthy academic path, yet ended up with three jazz degrees! Now, where’s my job security?
JGL: LOL…it’s in the mail!!! 🙂 You seem to have balanced the academic with the practical as it were by playing in a variety of performance settings such as venues & festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, the Fat Cat, Jazz in Marciac and the Jazz Corner to name but a few. How did these opportunities come about and do you have a favorite venue to perform in?
FL: I got lucky to tour extensively with twin brothers Peter & Will Anderson, who had an unusual trio – two horns and guitar! We were on the road three-four months out of the year for three years, before we all started having kids and settling down in New York. I saw a lot of the country from the back of their car; we used to drive from New York to Key West or New Mexico and back! As for my favorite New York venues, I really enjoy the acoustics at Birdland Theater, where I’ve been subbing quite a lot with Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks lately. I love leading bands at Mezzrow in the West Village and Ornithology Jazz Club in Bushwick. I also have a blast playing at the Ear Inn with Jon-Erik Kellso and the EarRegulars when he calls me; it’s a special place and a special band.
JGL: No doubt! As an aside…and as a native of France, did you find settling down in New York a culture shock? Are there moments when you miss home?
FL: Aside from the food, architecture, and healthcare, I really don’t miss Paris much! Friends and family come to visit, so I don’t feel the need to go back often (plus, it ain’t cheap flying these days!). I strangely relate more to New Yorkers than to Parisians – even as a born and raised Parisian. Musically, I definitely fit better here. I seem to have found my place here.
JGL: Going from great Jazz venues to speaking of gigs, you have played with some really notable Jazz legends such as the great Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Steve Turre and the always great – yet reclusive lol – Jazz Guitarist Joe Cohn amongst other truly wonderful players. How did these great gigs come about and what was needed of you musically?
FL: I got really lucky to play for Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights in Jazz concert series thanks to Peter & Will Anderson. They had assembled a band with Dominick Farinacci, Steve Turre, Tardo Hammer, Buster Williams, Jimmy Cobb, themselves, and myself. I had heard Jimmy Cobb live before and was shocked to hear the drums sound like that live, and getting to play with him felt surreal. I played the way I play, but my stuff never sounded so good than with his comping underneath. As for Joe Cohn, he’s the one that intimidates me the most, as his ears are out of this world. He not only hears everything I play, but everything I am trying to play, and everything I could/should play! I know he appreciates when I call him, as he can tell how much I dig him. I like to make him chuckle by playing some of his ideas. He’s a true improviser. Another person that intimidates me is the great pianist Sacha Perry, a true artist and an immense influence on my playing and my composing style.
JGL: While I can imagine that these high-profile gigs are all creatively satisfying, I’m curious to know – at the end of the day – are there one or two musical situations that you prefer over all others?
FL: I like the challenge of trying to serve the music regardless of style and context. I’ve been enjoying playing early styles of jazz even if I don’t feel as confident and proficient as in more modern contexts – yet! I truly enjoy comping for others. As a leader, I favor playing trio with bass and drums or organ and drums, and quartet with piano, bass, and drums. The people I play with are extremely important to me. I really feed off their energy and imagination.
JGL: Duly noted! Now…amongst your other musical and personal accomplishments, you released your first album back in 2023 titled Blues for the End of Time with none other than the legendary Jimmy Cobb in the drum chair, not to mention the great Bertha Hope on piano and Ari Roland on Bass! How did this all come about? You must have been ecstatic to play alongside these seasoned players! Congrats! ☺
FL: Thank you! That is one of my proudest accomplishments. I met Jimmy Cobb on that concert I mentioned earlier, and he was very kind to accept to record on my album despite my modest budget. I had played a lot with bassist Ari Roland, a true virtuoso and original, and felt that he would be the perfect fit for the music I wrote, which was very influenced by Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope, and Sacha Perry. When I heard that Bertha Hope was still performing around New York, I made sure to go hear her and connect with her. Her style is reminiscent of her late husband Elmo Hope, but she has her own universe. My best friend Samuel Lerner is sharing piano duties on the album. I love his sound and his compositions, and he contributed a quirky one to the album. We recorded it back in December 2018, but it took years to find grants in France to put it out. Luckily, COVID years don’t count, right? It is funny to listen to it nowadays, six years after the fact. I feel like a different player. I am overdue for album #2!
JGL: I hope that is sooner than later! Speaking of your first album, your tone on the album has a classic mid 50’s tone that at times reminded me of Kenny Burrell – especially your tune “The Grind” – where the sound was a tad more biting than usual and you have some beautiful guitars that I’ve seen you playing on videos and such. What gear did you use when recording your album and what guitars do you prefer all around? Is there one go-to guitar/amp that you use above all else?
FL: That’s high praise! I love Kenny Burrell, and I think he and Grant Green share the podium for greatest guitar tones of all time. I was using my 1951 Gibson L-7C with a McCarty pickup. I got this guitar because Grant Green used a McCarty pickup for a good chunk of the 1960s. It has a lot of bite. My only good amp at the time was a 1966 Ampeg Jet, which sounds very lively if a bit light in the bottom end. The L-7C, McCarty, and Jet all went to different friends of mine now. I do miss the bite of the McCarty sometimes, but I am going for a mellower sound these days. My 1938 L-5 and 1957 L-5CES fit every musical situation I can find myself in. I’m playing a bunch of old Ampeg amps from the late 50s/early 60s, and lately became the owner of a fantastic 1940 Gibson EH-185 amp, which is incredibly powerful and versatile.
JGL: Nice!! That’s ome amp! Similarly, do you have a specific stage set-up or recording set-up that you go-to or is it whatever is on hand?
FL: I’m the kind of loon to schlep a 30-45lbs tube amp to every gig in the New York subway! I always say that I’d rather suffer before and after the gig than during – although my perception of own playing makes me suffer during as well… I find it hard to focus on the music when the sound isn’t there. I want to not have to worry about tone, and have nothing interfere with the flow of the music. I should upgrade my home recording equipment with at least a decent ribbon microphone – although my current apartment has pretty bad acoustics.
JGL: Speaking of recording, what is your composition process? Do you come up with a melody and then add the changes behind it or vice-versa? And do you write solely on guitar or do you use other instruments?
FL: Sometimes it starts with a melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic idea and I have to fill in the blanks, and other times it comes all at once. I’ve had tunes which took me years to complete, sometimes assembling fragments of ideas, and others that took me less than an hour. I write on guitar, as I’ve pretty much abandoned the piano, to my great shame. Lately, I haven’t written much. I am in a phase where I’m listening to a lot of different music and absorbing. I wrote a few things which I find too much in the vein of my first album. I want my new music to reflect my development in the past six years.
JGL: Makes sense! Before we move on, can you talk a bit about your group Raise Four? Is it a reference to the Thelonious Monk tune?
FL: Yes, this was a collaboration with my friends bassist Dan Weisselberg, pianist Iftah Kary, and drummer Doron Tirosh, named after the Monk tune. The band is pretty much extinct at this point, but we have a few videos to remember!
JGL: I watched a few and enjoyed them. Now you have obviously found your stride in this business and have done quite well so far given your age. Any “tips or tricks” you can lay on those interested in doing the same? Should we all move to New York…lol? ☺
FL: New York’s tough! I personally thrive here, but it’s not without setbacks. I love it as much as I hate it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have grown immensely as a musician here, by listening and playing with so many great players. I find people more eager to play and approachable than in my hometown of Paris. I think it’s important for a jazz musician to spend some time here. It’s inspiring and humbling. As for living here, I can see why it’s not for everyone. It’s getting increasingly more difficult with the rising cost of living, and public transportation is a mess – shoutout to the MTA. I don’t know if I’ll always live there, but I can’t picture myself anywhere else at the moment.
JGL: Well since you are still there and since this is Jazz Guitar LIFE…how difficult do you find it making a living as a jazz guitar player specifically or as a working Guitarist in general in NYC? Have you had to take other gigs outside of music? Basically, how do you survive?
FL: There’s work in New York, but wages haven’t kept up with rent increases. The nature of the gig economy makes it pretty nerve-racking, as you go between insane weeks and quieter ones. Most musicians, myself included, play almost every night and also teach (speaking of which, I am available for in-person and online lessons, wink wink). Musicians are usually pretty specialized here, but I find it useful (and rewarding) to be able to navigate several scenes and styles. I am lucky that my wife also works, which helps in the slow months.
JGL: She’s a keeper…lol! 🙂 Almost every musician, no matter their level and professional stature has their own insecurities to deal with when it comes to the music and playing their instrument. What, if any, insecurities do you/did you face on your instrument and how do you/ did you work at getting over them?
FL: Even though I studied with many great teachers, I am practically autodidact when it comes to technique – something I feel is common among guitarists, as guitar technique is less standardized than piano or upright bass. I struggled with tendinitis as a result and constantly have to remind myself to relax both hands, arms, and shoulders. I’ve also never felt like my chops or my time feel were tight enough, although I had a progressive breakthrough in the past couple years where I feel more confident about my playing despite those frustrations. I don’t think this self-doubt ever goes away, but I do think it’s crucial to accept yourself so that you can stop focusing on yourself and more on the music. When things go right, I feel like I am listening to the music instead of playing. As soon as I start focusing on my shortcomings, I am less available to listen. I have to remind myself that it is selfish to hate yourself when you play; you shouldn’t be thinking about yourself, but about serving the music. Also, my sight-reading leaves much to be desired! Tough for us guitarists, who rarely are asked to read music – for good reasons. We can’t all be Joe Cohn and sight-read three different clefs at once! I mean, we can, but…
JGL: It would take another 10,000 hours!! Tell me, how do you handle the other side of being a working musician – the business side? Do you find the business side of being a Jazz musician something that should be taught in music schools or should the playing be left to the player and the business side of things be left to managers and agents?
FL: I am terrible at that side of things. I’ve been mainly a sideman, and now that I want to lead more, I realize that I have a lot to learn! I’ve always been focusing on the music, waiting for it to take care of me. Not how it works these days! I don’t know if music schools are equipped to teach this side of the business. It’s a fast-changing industry, and faculty are often disconnected from the current state of things.
JGL: Sad but true. Tell me Félix, if you had to do one thing over again, what would it be and why?
FL: If I gave my past self advice, he would do nothing with it! He was a stubborn one. Had to fall flat on his face to learn. I stopped thinking about this kind of thing because I can’t act on the past. I have enough anxiety about the present and the future!
JGL: LOL. I totally get it! Speaking of the past, do you still play piano?
FL: My greatest shame. I wish I kept up with it. Every year, I tell myself that I will practice it again. Next year…
JGL: Fingers crossed 🙂 Now I know you’re still relatively young, but have you had second thoughts about your choice to have music as a career and if so, what other career path do you think you would have followed had you not been a guitar player.
FL: I wish I had an answer to that! I tried getting my computer science skills up during the pandemic, but couldn’t get myself to do it all the way. When rawdogging ADHD, it’s not easy to focus on things you’re not passionate about. Nothing gives me dopamine like listening to or playing good music.
JGL: Agreed! When you’re not on the band-stand or in the recording studio, what do you like to do to unwind?
FL: It’s New York! Who’s got time to unwind? Plus, I have a three-year-old daughter, so…
JGL: LOL…say no more!! If you don’t mind sharing, what would one thing be that would be of a surprise to many of us that we don’t already know about you?
FL: I’ve picked up tenor banjo – run!
JGL: Cue the “Deliverance” banjo music scene! LOL! So, as we wrap up this interview, what does the future hold for Félix Lemerle?
FL: Keep gigging until the money runs out. In all seriousness, I hope to keep changing and improving. I wish to lead more gigs as a leader, playing my music with people I chose for attentive audiences. And just one more guitar, then I’m done, I swear!
JGL: That’s all we need is just one more guitar! 🙂 Thank you so much Félix for taking the time to chat with Jazz Guitar Life. I wish you much success in all your endeavors!
FL: Thank you Lyle! Likewise.
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