Dominique Pifarély, born 1957 in Bègles, is a pioneering improvising violinist, with an inclusive idea of music-making. In his early career he was in demand as a straight jazz player, but soon began playing progressive forms of the music in Mike Westbrook’s band and the Vienna Art Orchestra. In the 1980s he began leading his own bands, and in 1985 started to work with clarinettist and saxophonist Louis Sclavis. In 1992, they formed the Sclavis/Pifarély Acoustic Quartet, featuring guitarist Marc Ducret and bassist Bruno Chevillon, and recorded for ECM. In the late 1990s, he started a duo with pianist Fran?ois Couturier, and they recorded the album Poros for ECM in 1997. Other ECM appearances include three more discs with Sclavis (Rouge, Les Violences de Rameau and Dans la Nuit), as well as Stefano Battaglia’s Raccolto and Re: Pasolini.