Anne Paceo – Drummer and Composer

Anne Paceo is a French drummer, composer, and singer whose work connects jazz, song, electronic music, improvisation, and music from different traditions through a language centered on rhythm and timbral exploration.

Born in Niort in 1984 and raised during her early years in Ivory Coast, she became the first drummer to graduate from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with musicians including Archie Shepp, Michel Legrand, China Moses, Rhoda Scott, Jeanne Added, and Michael League.

Her discography includes projects such as Triphase, Circles, Fables of Shwedagon, Bright Shadows, S.H.A.M.A.N.E.S, and Atlantis, through which she has developed a body of work that crosses stylistic and cultural boundaries. She has received three Victoires du Jazz: Révélation in 2011 and Artiste de l’année in 2016 and 2019.

In her work, the drums function not simply as rhythmic support, but as a starting point for organizing voices, melodies, improvisation, and textures within a broad conception of contemporary composition.