Born in Asnières-sur-Seine, Florentz was a student of Pierre Schaeffer and Olivier Messiaen.
His incessant travels to Africa allowed him to study ethnomusicology[1] and linguistics.
He was a composer-in-residence at the Villa Médicis in Rome (1980–1981) and at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid (1983–1985) He died from cancer in 2004 in Paris.
[2] The Grand Prix d’orgue of the École régionale des beaux-arts d'Angers [fr] which has been awarded annually since 2002 to the best young hope among the organists, has been renamed Grand Prix Florentz [fr] or Grand prix d'orgue Jean-Louis Florentz.
Michaël Levinas succeeded him in 2009 and pronounced his praise under the Coupole on 15 June 2011