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└┐└──────┘ 16.01.2007
│play in.
artist: Jacques Schwartz Bart
album: Sone Ka La
label: Emarcy
cat: n/a
year: 2006
genre: Jazz
source: Cdda
grabber: Eac
encoder: LAME 3.97 Final --Vbr-New -V 2
quality: VBRkbps / 44,1kHz / Joint-Stereo
size: 93,4 MB
link: n/a
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│tracklist.
no. time track title
01 05:15 Papale
02 05:09 Sone Ka-La
03 06:02 Love
04 04:18 Toumblak
05 07:56 Ascent
06 05:25 Drum & Bass
07 03:52 Deshabille
08 01:10 The Chains
09 07:02 Gwoka
10 05:19 Padjanbel
11 05:31 Descent
12 05:25 Pe La
13 10:51 Lewoz
total time: 73:15 min
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│release notes.
Guadeloupes thriving music scene has thrown up some original
offerings of late, proving that home-grown Guadeloupean sounds make
a perfect foil for jazz. Following in the footsteps of saxophonist
David Murray and his collaboration with Guadeloupean hand-drum and
voice group The Gwo ka Masters and trumpeter Frank Nicolass Jazz ka
Philosophy project, saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart has emerged
with his own jazz-ka fusion, SonΘ Ka La. The album features seven
fundamental rhythms on Gwoka drums, expertly blended with jazz
harmonies in a mix that respects both styles and actually enhances
them in terms of musicality and spirituality. "Ive been working on
this for fifteen years now,ö explains Schwarz-Bart modestly, ôI was
waiting to have enough experience as a saxophonist and composer
behind me before taking on this complex musical chemistry. The
point is to fuse the two musical styles according to parameters
that are specific enough to guarantee a continuity, a consistency
and a unity while being flexible enough to create a music thats
truly different from song to song."
Jacques Schwarz-Bart could certainly never be described as a
newcomer to the music scene. He was born in Les Abymes, a suburb of
GuadeloupeÆs capital Pointe-α-Pitre, on 22 December 1962, but only
began playing music in earnest in the 1990s. Before that
Schwarz-Bart, who graduated from the prestigious French school
Sciences-Po (which grooms future MPs and prime ministers), landed
his first job as a senatorÆs assistant in Paris. He left the world
of diplomacy to pursue his passion for music, however, winning a
place at the world-renowned Berklee School of Music. Two years
later, Schwarz-Bart, then in his thirties, graduated from Berklee
and set up home in New York where he rapidly made a name for
himself at local jam sessions. This led to a flurry of invitations
to accompany established musicians on tour. Schwarz-Bart went on to
play with big names on the Boston scene such as Giovanni Hidalgo,
Danilo Perez and Bob Moses. But his big break came one night in the
Big Apple when he walked into New York jazz club BradleeÆs and
dared to get up on stage with his sax. Legendary Cuban pianist
Chucho Valds and trumpet star Roy Hargrove were both in the club
that night and were blown away by what they heard.
"One month later,ö recounts Schwarz-Bart, ôRoy HargroveÆs agent
called me to replace saxophonist David Sanchez in the Cuban band
Crisol." This proved to be the first step towards Schwarz-Bart
winning important recognition from the professional musician
community and he went on to record a first CD on Fresh Sound, a
label that has launched (nearly) all the new talents in the jazz
orthodoxy. In early 2000, he upped the tempo, performing at a host
of recording sessions and concerts with the likes of Erykah Badu,
Eric Benet, MeShell NÆDegeocello, Mario Canonge, James Hurt and Ari
Hoenig. DÆAngelo, the voice of nu-soul, forged such a close bond
with the sax-man that he dubbed him "Brother Jacques" û a nickname
which has stuck ever since. Meanwhile, Schwarz-Bart also made his
mark as a composer, writing Forget Regret, a track on Roy
HargroveÆs album Hard Groove that became a big hit. By this stage
of his career, Schwarz-Bart had turned forty - but his career had
more than made up for lost time!
Sone Ka La: an original new sound
All that remained for him to do now was cook up an original music
project in his own name. And thatÆs just what Schwarz-Bart did
next, throwing himself into writing new material that was,
unfortunately, turned down by all the record labels he approached.
Undeterred, he went on to finance the recording of this new work
himself, looking after his own production and distribution. But
then the big guns at Universal Jazz stepped in and offered him the
chance to make a follow-up in the same style. Schwarz-Bart took his
time over the project and two years later Sone Ka La stands
testament to its authors perspicacity and tenacity. The album,
recorded between New York and Pointe-α-Pitre, features some superb
songwriting, a talent that Schwarz-Bart doubtless inherited from
his parents, both award-winning novelists. His father, AndrΘ,
penned La MulΓtresse Solitude in 1972 and his mother, Simone, was
also extremely influential in gaining wider recognition for Creole
culture and identity. Jacques Schwarz-Bart has now extended his
parentsÆ favourite themes to a musical domain, adding a touch of
soul-funk to proceedings.
SonΘ Ka La includes an impressive musical cast drawn from different
countries, featuring everything from traditional French West Indian
drums and American improvisation virtuosos to contributions from
the Croatian pianist Milan Milanovic and Lionel Loueke, a
Benin-born jazz guitarist hailed as the hot new discovery of 2006.
Loueke also provides vocals on one song. Other vocals on the album
are courtesy of soul sister Stephanie McKay, Kassavs founder Jacob
Desvarieux, drummer and boulagyel (tropical beatbox) virtuoso
Jean-Pierre Coquerel, and, last but not least, the new dub master
Admiral T, whose smooth flow reflects the current vogue for
sound-systems in Guadeloupe.
"This is a melodic album, says Schwarz-Bart summing up SonΘ Ka La
in a convincing soundbite, ôEvery theme can be sung because in
Gwoka music the human voice fulfils all the melodic functions." A
fact amply illustrated on this melodic masterpiece!
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