Trivia

In 1990, Escoudé played at the Village Vanguard in New York City with Pierre Michelot, Hank Jones, and Kenny Washington.

In 2004 Escoudé organized the New Gypsy Trio with David Reinhardt (another relative of Django) and Martin Taylor (or Jean-Baptiste Laya).

He also played with Philip Catherine for a time.

In 1989, he created an octet, half of them guitarists: Paul Challain Ferret, Jimmy Gourley, Frédéric Sylvestre, and himself. The rest of the octet consisted of Marcel Azzola on accordion, Vincent Courtois on cello, Alby Cullaz on bass, and Billy Hart on drums.

His style was a mix of bebop and gypsy jazz influences, featuring the use of vibrato, portamento, and fast runs.

He performed in the Festival de Dakar in 1979 with the trio of René Urtreger, Pierre Michelot, and Daniel Humair.

In 2012, he released the album Christian Escoudé joue Brassens: Au bois de mon coeur, a tribute to French poet and musician Georges Brassens. Escoudé played the compositions of Brassens with bassist Pierre Boussaguet and drummer Anne Paceo, with guests violinist Fiona Monbet, clarinetist Andre Villeger, Gypsy jazz guitarist Biréli Lagrène and 11-year-old Gypsy guitarist Swan Berger.

In 1978, he performed at the Festival de Nice with John Lewis, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Philly Joe Jones, Lee Konitz, and Shelly Manne.

Escoudé formed the Trio Gitan with Boulou Ferré and Babik Reinhardt, Django's son.

In 1976, l'Académie du Jazz awarded him the Prix Django Reinhardt. He then formed a new quartet with Michel Graillier, Aldo Romano, and Alby Cullaz, the latter soon replaced by Jean-François Jenny-Clark.

Escoudé grew up in Angoulême and was of Romani descent on his father's side. His father was also a guitarist who was influenced by Django Reinhardt.

In 1972, he started work in a trio with Aldo Romano.

In his forties, he signed with the French division of Verve Records.

He also worked with Michel Portal or Slide Hampton, Martial Solal and Jean-Claude Fohrenbach.

Escoudé toured in a duo with guitarist John McLaughlin during 1980. The following year he joined the big band of Martial Solal and in 1982 performed in a quartet with Shelly Manne. In 1983, he played in duo again, this time with Didier Lockwood.

Christian Escoudé was a French Gypsy jazz guitarist.

He recorded in 1991 an album of compositions by Django Reinhardt while supported by a string orchestra, and in 1998 he recorded 'A Suite for Gypsies', a jazz fusion album.

When Escoudé was ten, his father began teaching him the guitar, and he became a professional musician at age fifteen.

He began in 1978 a tradition of participating in the annual Festival de Samois, a tribute to Reinhardt.

By the 1980s, he was in John Lewis's quartet.