This collaborative effort, presented by the Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, will include artists Thang Dao, Christopher “Chill” Hill, Delcan James, Daniel Palladino, Michelle Thompson and French-born and five-time Grammy Award-winning musician Scott Tixier.
For Tixier, his inclusion in Synergy 2024 comes possibly at the height of his career — one that has taken him from a music conservatory in Paris to the smoky jazz clubs of New York City and recently landed him tenure at The University of North Texas teaching jazz violin. This coveted spot at UNT also makes Tixier the first jazz violinist in the country to achieve tenure, something that makes the artist particularly proud.
“I’m the first tenured jazz violinist in America, and also in UNT’s history,” Tixier says. “When I moved here in 2018 to teach, I found the job amazing, and immediately got on a tenure track.”
Relocating to North Texas after a whirlwind of success spanning 15 years in New York came relatively easy for Tixier. The musician is no stranger to picking up and leaving at a moment’s notice. Born just outside of Paris, Tixier and his identical twin brother Tony showed considerable talent for music starting from the age of 3. The brothers attended several prestigious music schools growing up, and by the age of 6, both had chosen their instruments for life. Tony chose the piano and Scott picked up a violin. That’s where it all began.
“When I was 19, I won one of the biggest jazz competitions in Paris,” Tixier says. “For the first time in this competition, a violin won, and that was pretty exciting for me.”
After performing in all the jazz clubs of the closely-knit Parisian music scene, Tixier enjoyed one of his first big moments when he and his brother opened for Herbie Hancock. As they played to a packed house, Tixier noticed Hancock’s unmistakable silhouette watching from the side of the stage as the brothers improvised jazz songs. This was inspirational, to say the least, and led Tixier to wonder what more he could experience on the other side of the American jazz world.
In 2007, Tixier rolled the dice and took his chances in New York. He visited the U.S. with no intention of staying longer than a month or so, if he could even swing that.
“When I was 20, I left Paris thinking I’d stay in New York for a month, but I never came back,” Tixier says. “Paris is a village next to New York City. I came to New York to challenge myself. I was stuck artistically and wanted to open myself to new horizons. When you are 20, life seems like it’s for an eternity, so I was young and ready to go.”
The young jazz musician did not speak a word of English and knew only one New Yorker when he arrived, the influential jazz bassist Lonnie Plaxico. Tixier reached out to Plaxico on Myspace and the two met up at a small jazz club in the East Village. Plaxico later sponsored Tixier’s visa.
“It started out pretty rough as I didn’t speak English at all and lived in Bushwick,” Tixier says. “It was hard. When I saw my first cockroach I was like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ I called my landlord and asked what it was, and he said, ‘This is New York City man, what do you expect?’”
After a year of sitting in with musicians on the New York jazz scene, Tixier found a regular gig at a tiny bar that paid $75 per night. There he was approached by a young lady who asked if he wanted to play with David Letterman’s band. As Tixier was French and didn’t own a television, he first believed that Letterman was a band leader looking for a fill-in musician for a gig. The young woman gave Tixier the address and told him to show up on time later that week.
“I didn’t know who he was, and I didn’t have a television,” Tixier says. "The next week I’m at David Letterman’s studio and it’s cold as hell, like 54 degrees. Letterman comes up to me and says, ‘Welcome to the show’ and I played the show. Afterwards, the girl and I go to a bar to see ourselves on TV. She really gave me my first shot and opened all the doors for me.”
The newly plugged-in jazz violinist from Paris would go on to appear on Jimmy Fallon and then toured the U.S. with Stevie Wonder, playing Madison Square Garden with the legendary songwriter.
“My second big break was when I got a call from Stevie Wonder’s assistant,” Tixier says. “I got a gig at Madison Square Garden playing with him for two years, going everywhere around the United States.”
There was still much more to come for the transplant. Later, after accepting a weekly gig at the legendary Duane Park burlesque show, Tixier was introduced to some of the venue’s most famous clientele, including Hollywood A-listers Quentin Tarantino, Keanu Reeves, Lou Reed and Harvey Keitel. This would open a series of opportunities and friendships that helped further Tixier’s ascent to musical stardom.
“At one gig, Lou Reed came right up to me and said, ‘Hey man, I love jazz violin,’” Tixier says. “I didn’t know who he was but [he] obviously knew his music. That night, Harvey Keitel also was there with his wife. She took my number wanting to hire me for a private birthday party she was throwing for him. I couldn’t believe people like this were aware of jazz violin. Everything in New York is so much more appreciated than in France.”
Later, Tixier was contacted about the party and was picked up by a car after settling on a generous sum of money for his services. As he entered the dining room hosting the small party, he was amazed at the dinner guests.
“The door opens and there’s a dude with a towel on his arm and six to eight guests,” Tixier says. “I see Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Sting and, of course, Harvey Keitel. As I’m playing, Robert De Niro gets out his phone and starts filming me! He got my number and a few months later I got a call from him to play another gig, and things kept going from there.”
On another occasion, that following weekend, the musician had another opportunity of a lifetime.
Jazz Under the Stars
“The next Saturday, Keanu Reeves comes by the venue with his friend, and his friend asked if he’d be able to feature my band in his next film,” Tixier says. “He then asks if I would be available for the soundtrack too. He said the film was called John Wick. Two weeks later, I was on set at 5 a.m. filming, and after, I spent the day with Keanu Reeves. He was a really good person.”During his time in New York, Tixier had also married but in 2016 the couple split up, citing irreconcilable differences. This left the musician at a crossroads of sorts. While sharing an apartment with several other musicians after his divorce, Tixier received an interesting message on Facebook from a violinist named Regina Carter. The message was yet another opportunity that would finally bring Tixier to North Texas.
“One of my roommates had graduated with a degree from North Texas,” Tixier says. “Six months later, I got a Facebook message that there was an opening at that school, and I applied for the job. At the time, I was working as a backup musician for America’s Got Talent and in a new relationship. I got the job in 2018, so I moved to Texas, and it’s been amazing ever since.”
Several years after making a name for himself in academia and on the Dallas music scene, Tixier views his opportunity to write music for Synergy 2024 to be a bit cathartic. Although he misses his twin brother and family back in Paris, being part of a dance collaboration brings him back to happy thoughts of his mother and all he's achieved since leaving Paris.
“Being part of this project is special for me because my mom is a dancer,” Tixier says. “The director called me and invited me to compose a piece for the ballet. The chemistry was there, and it was just amazing working together and with the dancers. There are three movements I wrote dealing with the human condition. The first is about self-doubt and stabilization. The second movement is everything falling apart. The third movement is about hope, finding a new home and new possibilities of happiness. The idea is now that you’ve done enough, you can enjoy the present moment.”
When writing the music and themes for Synergy 2024, Tixier’s words and inspiration may have come to mirror his own life’s trajectory. In Dallas, the French musician has found a new home and a comfortable place to inspire others — for now, at least until he answers his next phone call or Facebook message.
Dallas Synergy 2024 takes place Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22, at Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. Tickets start at $35.
