Born in Nevers, Jean-Louis Sajot is the founder of the « Octuor de France ».

He began his musical studies in his native town of Nevers and then entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he obtained a first prize for clarinet.

After a short period with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Lyon, he joined the Orchestre National de France in 1976 and has played under the direction of celebrated conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, Claudio Abbado, Ricardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Eugène Jochum, Seiji Ozawa, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Mazur…

He taught clarinet at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris from 1978 to 1996 and has given many hundreds of concerts with the « Octuor de France » both in France and abroad. He divides his time between his post as Clarinettist with the Orchestre National de France and his responsibilities as Clarinettist and Musical Director of the « Octuor de France ».