Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris), is a French jazz, rock and world music musician, known as a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk, as well as a poet. His first instrument was a saxophone, but he also plays flutes, alto clarinet, ocarina, Laotian Khen, Bawu flute, Hulusi and many other wind instruments. Since 1995, duduk has been his preferred instrument. Before Gong (1960–69) Didier Malherbe began playing saxophone at age 13 after hearing Charlie Parker's "Bloomdido", a title he later would adopt as his nickname. After two years of formal training on saxophone he began to participate in jam sessions at various Paris jazz clubs alongside the likes of Alby Cullaz, Eddy Louiss, Jacques Thollot ... He then moved away from jazz. "I had grown puzzled about bebop because of so many rules. Then free jazz arrived, which got rid of all the rules... I decided I'd rather look elsewhere". In 1962, after hearing the first Ravi Shankar album, he travelled to India, where he discovered bamboo flute and learned to play bansuri, Indian bamboo flute. Back in Paris, he took classical flute lessons, while studying ancient languages at the Sorbonne university. In 1964-65, he travelled around Morocco, staying in a community in Tangier, playing with other hippie musicians such as guitarist Davey Graham and absorbing elements of Arabic music. In 1966, he appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Chappaqua, credited to Ravi Shankar, and dabbled with rock music for the first time, electrifying his sax when he appeared, as part of a band called Les Rollsticks, in Marc'O's successful comedy-rock Les Idoles. This was such a hit that it was made into a feature film in 1968. In the summer of 1968, Malherbe left for Majorca, in the Balearic Islands, where he found shelter in the property of writer Robert Graves. There he worked on improving his flute playing, and spent time with Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen, two former members of Soft Machine, whose performance at the Fenêtre Rose festival in late 1967 he later called "a triggering event." In 1969, back in Paris, he joined a raga-blues-folk trio, Morning Calm, and played free jazz with American pianist Burton Greene, appearing on his album recorded for the BYG label. The same label released Magick Brother (1969), the first Gong album, on which Malherbe appeared alongside musicians of various backgrounds, whether pop or jazz.