Didier Malherbe

Didier Antonin Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris, France) is a saxophonist and flautist. He was one of the founders of the Canterbury sound band Gong.

In Paris in May 1968 he met Australian singer, guitarist, poet and ex-Soft Machine member Daevid Allen, with whom he was to start Gong, an international community band incubated in Deya, Majorca, that toured France and Europe before appearing on the British scene starting at the first Glastonbury festival in June 1971.

Virgin Records signed them in 1973, and their album Camembert Électrique appeared in the charts. Gong toured extensively around the UK and Europe while producing the albums of their "Radio Gnome trilogy": Flying Teapot, Angel's Egg and You. Malherbe was often billed as "Bloomdido Bad de Grass". In 1975, when Allen left Gong, Didier continued with the band in line-ups with Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Pierre Moerlen, 1975's Shamal, 1976's Gazeuse! with Alan Holdsworth and Mino Cinelu.

Malherbe's turn to leave Gong came in 1978. Back in France, he put together his five-piece Bloom band; in 1980 he released an album on EMI which was rather jazz-rock in style. The most significant change of 'shape' came in 1994 with the start of his association with multi-instrumentalist Loy Ehrlich, and percussionist Steve Shehan performing his own brand of wind-led, acoustic ethnic-jazz. Under the name Hadouk Trio the band has toured and played with many artists in Europe, while Malherbe himself has continued to perform individually and with other artists (particullary Brigitte Fontaine and guitarist Pierre Bensusan) in Japan and the U.S. In 2006 Hadouk released an album with pioneer American trumpeter Jon Hassell, Utopie.

See also

• Pierre Moerlen's Gong
• Short Wave (band)
• Comus (band)

External links

• Official site
• Interview with Didier Malherbe at allaboutjazz.com
• Some music from Didier Malherbe available here [1]