Le Bal Jacquin, the ‘bal du monde’ quartet led by accordionist, composer and rhythm explorer Éric Allard-Jacquin, will unveil its new album ‘Au bout du bout’, due for release on 20/03/2026 on A tout va / Modulor Records Paris. This opus will be presented on Thursday 9 April 2026 on stage at La Petite Halle (Paris, 19th arrondissement) during an exceptional launch concert. The album’s first single, featuring Bazbaz, is already available on all platforms.
“Au bout du bout thus presents itself as a disc of resistance. Against the abandonment of the accordion to old fashioned types like Chance aux chansons, against the gangrene of identity, against withdrawal into oneself and the ad nauseam rumination on one’s own sorrows and pains, these ten compositions affirm the transcendent powers of imagination, experience, sharing and attention to the world. Of course, a few demons still linger, as do flashes of melancholy. But dance puts things back in their place, with the heart beating at the centre and everything that threatens to stop it at the periphery. At the end of the day, for Bal Jacquin, the future is bright.” Louis-Julien Nicolaou
Alongside Éric Allard-Jacquin (accordion) are three musicians with unique backgrounds:
- Matthis Pascaud (guitar)
- François Lapeyssonnie (bass)
- Arthur Alard (drums)
Two talented guests complete the quartet:
- Bazbaz (vocals) on the track ‘Au bout du bout’ (track 2)
- Oriane Lacaille (vocals, percussion) on the track ‘Fanm tambour’ (track 4)
Le Bal Jacquin is an invitation to dance, to listen, to explore different styles and soundscapes. Created by accordionist, composer and rhythm explorer Éric Allard-Jacquin, the group brings together four musicians from rich and contrasting backgrounds, united by a common desire: to create a contemporary dance party that is curious, open and without boundaries.
Le Bal Jacquin is neither a bal musette nor a bal folk. It is a free ball. It borrows from traditional forms what is most alive in them: their ability to bring people together, to move them, to make them dance – while reinventing them with a contemporary musical language.
At a crossroads, the group fully embraces its influences: the woody, brassy trances of Baobab Orchestra, the musical tales of Ry Cooder, and the joyful inventiveness of André Minvielle, capable of making words swing as well as bodies.
Éric Allard-Jacquin‘s compositions navigate between song, instrumental trance, swaying rhythms and poetic flights of fancy. Vocals are rare, but never absent: they emerge, spoken or sung, often in dialogue with the accordion. You can hear echoes of the Mediterranean, West Africa, the bayous of the southern United States, and even the popular dances of Central Europe.
After several concerts in France, Le Bal Jacquin is preparing to release its first album, ‘Au bout du bout’, the result of demanding and generous creative work. The album, recorded in the studio, will feature several renowned guests, including Camille Bazbaz and Oriane Lacaille, two artists whose uniqueness and timbre enrich the group’s sound palette.
More than just a musical project, Le Bal Jacquin is a way of conceiving the collective: lively music in constant dialogue with the audience, with the world, with dance. A ball where nothing is reproduced, but where everything is invented in the moment.
