Hodeir was born in Paris and trained as a classical violinist and composer. He studied at the
Conservatoire de Paris, where he was taught by
Olivier Messiaen and won first prizes in fugue, harmony, and music history. While pursuing these studies he discovered jazz and various music forms besides jazz and classical. He recorded on violin under the pseudonym "Claude Laurence". As a critic, his tough but insightful analytic writings were much acclaimed and influential (
Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence; English edition 1956). In 1954 he was a founder and director of Jazz Groupe de Paris, which included
Bobby Jaspar,
Pierre Michelot and
Nat Peck. In 1957, at the invitation of
Ozzie Cadena of
Savoy Records, he recorded an album of his compositions with
Donald Byrd,
Idrees Sulieman,
Frank Rehak,
Hal McKusick,
Eddie Costa,
George Duvivier, and
Annie Ross. In addition to two books of
Essais (1954 and 1956), he wrote film scores, including
Le Palais Idéal by
Ado Kyrou for the film
Chutes de pierres, danger de mort by
Michel Fano, and
Brigitte Bardot's
Une Parisienne. He founded an orchestra during the 1960s and composed a work based on the
Anna Livia Plurabelle story from the novel
Finnegans Wake by
James Joyce. He died in
Versailles. == Discography ==