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« Here are nine of my favorite rhythms, which I cherish as much as the songs I enjoy performing on my piano or in my head. Because they hold within them the identity of a region, a country, a people or a music. I first discovered them through the “Tambor y Canto Encounters” at the Cité de la Musique in Marseille. I then started to master them, slipping them in on my keyboard between percussionists and singers. Then I brought them home with me and showed them to my jazz collaborators... My most cherished rhythms " will have surely changed since the beginning of the voyage, but no matter, just as long as we make it there, to listen to the album and undertake the musical journey through America, the one in the South, the one that speaks Spanish and Portuguese, the one with llaneros, boleristas and candomberos, where music is dance, danzón, côco and huayno. » Simon Bolzinger As a pianist, composer, arranger with training in classical and jazz music, Simon Bolzinger is passionate about traditional music from South America and the Caribbean, which he transcribes to the piano, or re-writes for orchestras, always respectful of traditions and striving for authenticity. Artistic Director of the PICANTE Association in Marseille, he organizes the "Rencontres Tambor y Canto" ("Tambor y Canto Encounters"), which revolve around traditional music and hold international exchanges that might lead to the production of shows and records. A classically-trained musician, he discovered South American music singing in choirs after joining the university choirs of Caracas under the direction of Alberto Grau and Maria Guinand. His two years in Venezuela (1989-90) provided him the opportunity to learn about Afro-Venezuelan salsa and polyrhythms. He earned the Gold Medal in the jazz class at the Conservatoire de Marseille, under the direction of Guy Longnon (1992). Following his studies in Physics Engineering and his PhD in Acoustics (1995) under the direction of composer Jean-Claude Risset, he decided on becoming a professional musician and trained the salsa group ZUMBAO through fifteen years of tours to international recognition, confirmed by the opening of the Feria de Cali (2006). A connoisseur of traditional Venezuelan music, he also studied in the Cuban tradition, in which he founded the ensemble "Galarumba" with the singer Martha Galarraga and percussionist Gustavo Ovalles (2003). He started the annual "Tambor y Canto" encounters on traditional music at the Cité de la Musique in Marseille (2005), where traditional music from the South American countries of Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay get presented and revisited. Many creations and collaborations with the tradition's artistic heirs were to follow. The most accomplished is unquestionably the Tambor y Canto Company, which mixes traditions from four countries, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina and Peru, with jazz (CD "Tambor y Canto", 2017 / Quart de Lune - Rue Stendhal). In 2010 he turned back to instrumental jazz, first in a quartet with saxophonist Olivier Temime on the album "Cantos Queridos", then as part of a trio on a new work "Ritmos Queridos" (2020). He could also be found composing for the vocal ensemble "Voix de Strass" in Strasbourg, and doing arrangements and accompaniment for mixed-tradition songs: "Nougarôtrement" performances with Jean-Philippe Trotobas, "Wayaj" with Elsy Fleriag, "Barbara Jazz" with Katy Bolide, "Hispano América" with Choune and Sylvie Paz, "Cabaret Eldorado" with Gil Aniorte, "Agua" with Regina Celia, "Nina, une évocation" with Corinne Vangysel.

The passing on of music from one musician to another and from one soul to another continues, echoing ancient melodies that used to be heard throughout the city, in churches and cafes; in the mosques and courtyards of stone-carved buildings. These tunes, in Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, Turkish and Kurdish, have been passed down from one generation to the next, their beauty serving as the sole weapon against falling into oblivion. Their one common denominator is, for Fawaz Baker, their constant innovation within the constraints of traditional structure. Eastern music offers myriad possibilities in terms of rhythm, melody and improvisation. It is what is referred to as modal music: composed of musical phrases, not tones or notes like most compositions in the West since the eighteenth century. Eastern sound is based on improvisation and polyphony; a freedom that allows two melodies to evolve simultaneously within a complex architecture, letting each musician interpret and improvise. How, then, might a balance be struck between written and improvised music, between modal and tonal? The challenge is no small feat, but it does illustrate how music - and art in general - is capable of creating a dialogue between contradictory forces, one where ideology falls short.   At first there were the encounters the virtuoso of choro Paulista, multiple meetings have marked the artistic experiments conducted in São Paulo by Jean-Luc Thomas. Between jazz, choro, contemporary music, popular mu- sic and learned music, Jean-Luc has built a network of valuable collaborators, each recognized locally and internationally around real knowledge and artistic achievements. Following the meeting in 2009 with Carlos Malta, the «wind sculptor» (Hermeto Pascoal, Pife Muderno, Gil Gilberto, Gaetano Veloso, Lenine, Dave Mathews, ...), in 2013, they created the trio «Sopro da Terra» with the talented percussionist Bernardo Aguiar (Pandeiro Re- pique Duo, ..) who has performed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Jean-Luc Thomas composed these pieces dedicated to places, people, situations. Following a stay in Brazil in 2018, then a two-part residency for recording in the spring of 2019, the album is mixed in Brittany in the fall, for an exit in the bins the following winter.

The album   “Musique Noire” is an eight-track album that draws a parallel between slavery and modern alienation in our professions, hobbies, customs, pleasures, daily life. That is what Edgar calls “Purple Identities” in reference to Alice Walker’s novel. Music tracks’ intents is not to point at the subjection to labour, a hierarchy, a system, but, on the contrary, to make the listener reflecting on broken freedom, artistic testimonies they instill (parallel drawing with The Blues’ people by Amiri Baraka). Taking back the influences that fed Edgar’s childhood, from “sébéné” to blues, including “zouk”” and “folk”, the plural orchestrations also and above all tell rap diversity as inclusive music, as world music.   Edgar Sekloka Former sidekick of Gaël Faye within the Milk Coffee and Sugar group, and winner of the Prix des Musiques d'Ici 2018, Edgar Sekloka offers in his new project, “Musique Noire”, a successful synthesis of rap and singing song, that he colours with different influences drew on world music and blues. Accompanied by singer and percussionist Koto Brawa and by guitarist Jean-Baptiste Meyer-Bisch, he distills his words without concession, denouncing the alienation of modern times, through the social chronicles of everyday life, while spreading his highly contagious benevolence. Multifaceted artist who manages to touch everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.  Edgar Sekloka is a special case in the French-speaking rap landscape. From his different cultural heritages between Puteaux, Cameroon and Benin, he has built a wealth from which he draws his inspirations, which he nourishes over time, through his encounters. Novelist and poet, he makes reference to Chaplin in his videos, he steps onto the stage, collaborates with Mélissa Laveaux or Blick Bassy, freestyles with JP Manova, flies to New York slame with Thief (Franco-American jazz trio), when it does not turn into Mc to orchestrate with its live band Open Mics and Jam Sessions, or as teacher Sekloka, off-road speaker, from schools to jails, from retirement homes to conservatories, for writing workshops or other artistic adventures. Leading several projects at a time, he is already there, while at the moment he was still here, but don’t get you wrong, Edgar knows very well where he’s going, and especially where he wants to take you with him !  

Temming from the meeting of the pianist Mathieu Belis, the cellist Nicolas Carpentier and the percussionist Thomas Ostrowiecki, Yeliz Trio takes us to the crossroads of urban, classical and oriental music, influenced by artist such as Trio E.S.T, Chick Coréa, Anouar Brahem, and composers like Ravel, Bartok and Shostakovic. From this heritage has grown a peculiar sound: impressionist harmonies and melismatic language of the piano , lyric or rough tones of the cello, trance and asymmetric rhythm and collective energy, the music of the Trio leads the listener into a powerful and poetic sound universe. MATHIEU BELIS  After listening to a solo album by Chick Coréa, pianist Mathieu Bélis, coming from a classical training, gets passionate about improvisation. He comes to develop his own musical language as an autodidact, inspired by musicians like Egberto Gismonti, Keith Jarrett or Anouar Brahem. Composer as much as pianist, the important thing for him is not really the instrument, but rather the harmonies, the colors and the feelings that he wishes to express. NICOLAS CHARPENTIER  Coming from a classical training at the Paris Conservatoire, Nicolas Carpentier has always been interested in blending different artistic expressions. He explores with different musical ensembles the links between music and cinema, tale, mime, dance, traditional contemporary music. He joined the Yeliz Trio in 2016, giving him the opportunity to reconcile his interest in contemporary creation with his love for modal improvisation as a new opportunity to search and express his own voice. THOMAS OSTROWIECKI Thomas Ostrowiecki studied jazz drums with Georges Pacynski then the world (West Africa, Bazil, Turkey, Egypt...)to study traditional percussion. His versatility and artistic curiosity lead him to work in contexts as varied as world music (Safy boutera, Souad Massy, Titi Robin, Angelique Lonatos, Monica Passos...), rock and the alternative scene (Sergent Garcia, New Wave),the song (Bernard Lavillier, Ute Lemper, Mano Solo, Vanessa Paradis...) He also collaborates with the Paris Opera and the Symphonic Orchestra of Brittany.  

A violin, an accordion, a guitar, a double bass, percussion. The Guappecarto play as they live, with this spontaneity, this generosity, this Italian class, a cabaret-punk side of another time that Fellini could have filmed. From Italy, they preserve the roots, a presence, a certain cachet. Gypsy culture, they take the fire, a form of confrontation with life, a movement without borders. In this way, the music of Guappecarto undeniably opens the imaginary and story boxes ... Guappecarto's 4th disc is composed of nine reinterpretations of the works of Vladimir Sambol, composer Fiuman of the 1930s, who emigrated to Sweden after the Second World War. Sambol's writing has been faithfully respected in some cases; in others, it has been used to develop and obtain pieces that are profoundly different from the original in favor of a new atypical sound research for the quintet, expanded by surprising collaborations. Electric guitar and bass, violin with effects, drums, are just some of the novelties of the disc; the original pieces are unstructured, rearranged, transfigured and sometimes added to ad-hoc pieces. The record was recorded at Mauro Pagani's "Officine Meccaniche" studios in Milan in November 2018. The shots were made by Guido Andreani and the mix by Laurent Dupuy (double grammy "best world music album" 2014, 2015), and artistic direction by Stefano Piro.   Featuring: Vincent Segal – cello Daniele Sepe – saxophone Adèle Blanchin – didgeridoo, jaw harp Jeremy Nattagh – handpan, sanza, drums Hamid Moumen – derbouka, tar, karkabou Marzouk Mejri – daff, tar Francesco Arcuri – sound design    

"Bernard Fines’ voice is placed, and we go as well along with it, in the middle of a crossroad with the sweet multiple influences where we feel balanced within happiness in a mist of Nougaro, Jonasz and a Brazil of yesteryear, with no nostalgia though. However, Bernard Fines is not lost in his many references, on the contrary, he explores them brightly teaming with top musicians." David Linx « The bossa nova becomes my impossible dream, and after some brave attempts, I began to taste the pleasure of interpreting standards like One Note Samba, Black Orpheus and others like Meditation ... But later my path will cross the MPB, Brazilian Popular Music, more precisely in 1992 when I quit my country to go to Brazil, where I had the chance to live for twenty-two years. A total immersion, linguistic and cultural, punctuated by the concerts in bars, in the conservatory of Curitiba, the lessons of singing and theater and of course, learning the sweetness of life ... Samba de Gringo is a reinterpretation of my Brazilian life, mentioning profound humanly themes, like: limitless love, impossible love, a sense of celebration, tolerance, friendship, the place of music in society, the basic beauty of black and white photography, the rain in the rainforest, the emotion of writing on a blank page, the deserted beaches, the concrete jungle, and of course the « saudade ». Julio Bittencourt, with whom I had the chance to tour for eight years on the Brazilian roads, always introduced me as the most Brazilian French he has ever met. And somehow it touches me, because afterall it's quite true. The last but not least, I would like to thank my father, who lent me his pen, my mother, who gave me her musical ears, my wife who took me to Brazil in her suitcases, and all of my musician friends and Brazilian music lovers who taught me the art of Brazilian swing ... Without you, Samba de Gringo would never have existed. I was 15 when I discovered bossa nova in my native Ariège. My initiator was a summer camp monitor, recently landed from Paris, with the legendary LP of Getz/Gilberto in his suitcases/luggage. Love at first sight, I’ve listened and everything became so clear: by the point of my guitar’s arm, the founding notes of everything I could glean from the ambassadors of Brazilian music in France at a time when the term world music did not yet exist: Nougaro, Lavilliers, Nino Ferrer... » Bernard Fines

Supported by this popularity and recording albums that were more and more daring, in 2004 Djavan celebrated his independence with the launch of his own label, Luanda Records, through which he released his next albums. The agent Djavan Caetano Viana is born. But, what does Djavan, the businessman, expects from the artist? He expects to see him go from swing to blues, to flow through ballads and through his extremely professional way of doing samba, always keeping his characteristic right hand on the acoustic guitar, inspired by the daily life to enrich his lyrics. And also that Djavan, the artist, releases new albums with original songs – next to interpretations of his own work to other environments, like it can be seen in “Na Pista”, or daring to use his privileged voice to sing songs by other song writers, like he does in “Ária”. May he continue the unremitting search for roads that renew his way of making music. With the ears and excitement of that boy from Maceió who one day chose music over football, and the emotions of a son in awe with his mother who made vocal arrangements while washing clothes by the river bank. Hugo Sukman Read the all biography here

Bab El West In 2011, the singer-guitarist Habib Farroukh met drummer Marc Dupont and travelling companion, bassist Clement Vallin. Through the wild jam sessions set up in numerous squats and concert across Paris, a strong bond formed between these three musicians from the west, guided by their love for adventure and groove.  At the crossroads where Maghreb folk, soul and Afro music meet, the music of Bab El West ("the West Gate") took shape in 2012. Playing equal parts traditional and modern-day music, the trio coalesces around guitarist Hamza Bencherif, who lends his blues rock touch, and Nidhal Jaoua, a virtuoso on the qanun, the eastern ancestor of the harp.  To wide acclaim from both the press and public for their first album Douar, released in 2017, Bab El West returns to the source: the road. Two years touring and nearly a hundred concerts later, the band recorded Houdoud, an ode to life on the road and all their latest encounters, slated for release on November 29, 2019.   Houdoud "The word frontier is a one-eyed word, humankind sees the world with two eyes". This quote from Eluard serves as inspiration for Bab El West's new album, Houdoud. "Houdoud" means "frontier", where worlds join together, while also marking their limit: joyful and threatening at the same time, complex and dual-fold in nature.  Their first album, Douar, meaning "the village", earned critical acclaim, won the SACEM prize for self-production and laid the foundations for an imaginary village, the cradle of the band and its roots. Houdoud, for its part, is steeped in asphalt, celebration and cross roads. Having ripened while on the road, it bears the imprint of the music scene and their fruitful encounters: with the talented Shiels, former members of the Irish band Sons of the Desert; the ever-present side man Yannick Jory, a Breton saxophonist with gypsy inflections; and Jean-Luc Thomas, an exceptional flautist in the Breton tradition, with African, Arabic and South-American sensibilities.  From stopover to stopover, Celtic influences mingle with the Chaabi and Gnawa sounds of North Africa, from which the band drew when recording Houdoud, the ever-changing frontier. Behind it all, a common heritage: rock, pop and Afro music.  The sound engineer Leo Fourastie set up a mobile studio in a large wooden building on the banks of the Jaudy estuary in the Cotes d'Armor, the band's historic stomping ground. The live recording of all the tracks, from voice to percussion, lends the album its cohesion and unique warmth. Deeply organic and by turns a poetic western, a fable, a quest story, Houdoud leads the living through catchy melodies to the outer reaches of human, animal and plant worlds. 

Sorry, this entry is only available in FR. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.Le 23e Festival de l'Imaginaire se tiendra cette année du 10 octobre au 31 décembre inclus, en partenariat avec Télérama, Mezzo, La Terrasse, Qué Tal París?, Artistik Rezo et L'Étudiant.   Convoquer les esprits L’esprit qui fait vivre le Festival de l’Imaginaire est coriace ! Contre vents et marées il s’entête, depuis plus de 20 ans, à créer les conditions de la découverte et de l’étonnement devant l’inépuisable diversité des formes d’expression à travers le monde. Les esprits qui s’incarnent à travers le festival sont pluriels : esprit des ancêtres, réels ou mythiques, qui habitent le chanteur et poète cap-verdien Mário Lúcio, en ouverture du festival dans un solo inédit en France ; esprit de fête du bal fandango de la région de Sotavento, au Mexique. Esprit du merveilleux qui anime les marionnettes budaixi de Taïwan, de la musique que TM Krishna, figure emblématique de la scène carnatique, ou Fargana Qasimova, ambassadrice virtuose du mugham d’Azerbaïdjan, partagent dans la communion avec leur public. Esprits de la nature invoqués lors du Donghaean byeolsingut, ce rare rituel chamanique pratiqué tous les trois à dix ans par des communautés de pêcheurs de Corée. Poupées-esprits des cultes vaudous ou de fertilité qui prendront possession de l’exposition du Festival…  Esprit des lieux, enfin. Prestigieux, surprenants, intimes, patrimoniaux, ceux qui accueillent le festival sont divers et chacun a son identité propre, créant l’alchimie avec les artistes et le public. Grâce à la diversité de ces partenaires, le festival poursuit sa route à la rencontre des habitants de tous les territoires, urbains et ruraux, à Paris, en Seine-Saint-Denis, à Lyon, en Bretagne… Ce 23e festival recroise le chemin de grands maîtres que la Maison des Cultures du Monde a invités jadis ; il révèle de jeunes disciples auxquels ces derniers ont transmis leur art. La transmission et la relation maître-élève seront d’ailleurs en filigrane du colloque international « Diversité des imaginaires, traditions et arts du spectacle vivant » comme de la Journée du patrimoine culturel immatériel cette année dédiée à la musique. Le festival renforce ainsi ses collaborations avec les jeunes chercheurs et étudiants, pour des moments réflexifs autour des patrimoines vivants, de formation ou d’échanges musicaux avec les artistes, notamment grâce aux liens tissés avec les partenaires de la Communauté d’Universités Paris-Lumières. Je voudrais rendre hommage à tous ces esprits, ancêtres et grands maîtres qui ont fait et font le festival, et leur demander de nous accompagner longtemps encore. Séverine Cachat, directrice de la Maison des Cultures du Monde, Centre français du patrimoine culturel immatériel

Fives voices, five personalities and memorable songs intense with emotion singing of the many roads women have travelled. La Mòssa in Italian means movement. In Naples, La Mossa describes the enticing swing movement of the hips ending on a famous final swing, first originated by Nini Tirabouchon in the 1920’s. La Mòssa is a wide-eyed, inquisitive woman exploring the world around her. Ears and eyes open and awake, ready to capture an inspiring moment of truth, ready to tell the world about her unique moment, ready to sing her experience. In her small handbag she carries, with elegance and with precaution, the songs that have moved her. La Mòssa laughs and dances with the agility of the tarentella. Songs of haunting memories from times gone by in Italy, in the Limousin, from the Réunion, from Brazil, even from Albania...She shi- vers and shakes with each memory she transmits. La Mòssa also interprets certain songs sung by men and enjoys looking for other nuances, other interpretations. Playing with these influences, La Mossa intergrates homegrown roots and musical passion. And when La Mossa strikes her tambourines and speaks, you realize that La Mossa is a coherent group of five women, five voices uniquely knitted together by the love of music.

Fawaz Baker  A lifelong musician, Fawaz Baker was a professional architect before devoting himself exclusively to music. From accompanying singers on the accordion as a child, to the keyboards and then double bass, he has explored various music spaces (hard rock, jazz, blues) and devoted years to studying musicology and the multiple influences of Aleppine music (Ottoman, Iranian, Armenian, Indian and Central Asian, including the Sufi tradition). The war ended up tearing this Oud player away from hometown and from everything he had built, though he has long sought to continue in solidarity with his people: he led the Aleppo Conservatory of Music for several years where, he said, "the greatest challenge was composing between the teaching of Western classical music and that of traditional Eastern music.". Beyond the joy and sadness, the music allows him to build new sentiments and create a new memory. As part of his commitment, Fawaz Baker spends much of his time in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon passing on his passion for music to children, showing them how to re-learn silence, far from the noise of war. He is an associate artist at Quartz in Brest until 2020.  Ensemble Fawaz Baker The passing on of music from one musician to another and from one soul to another continues, echoing ancient melodies that used to be heard throughout the city, in churches and cafes; in the mosques and courtyards of stone-carved buildings. These tunes, in Arabic, Syric, Armenian, Turkish and Kurdish, have been passed down from one generation to the next, their beauty serving as the sole weapon against falling into oblivion. Their one common denominator is, for Fawar Baker, their constant innovation within the constraints of traditional structure. Easter music offers myriad possibilities in terms of rhythm, melody and improvisation. It is what is referred to as modal music: composed of musical phrases, not tones or notes like most compositions in the West since the eighteenth century. Eastern sound is based on improvisation and polyphony; a freedom that allows two melodies to evolve simultaneously within a complex architecture, letting each musician interpret and improvise. How, then, might a balance be struck between written and improvised music, between modal and tonal? The challenge is no small feat, but it does illustrate how music - and art in general - is capable of creating a dialogue between contradictory forces, one where ideology falls short.

Gharnata - The Album : "Gharnata means Granada in arabic. Why this choice? By being a Granadian, I am aware of the legacy left by this extraordinary civilization at his peak. Al Andalus has given us an example of coexistence, an art of living and a huge and deep culture, « with capital C», either in painting, poetry, craftmanship, science and especially in music. Considering I am self-thaught, I like to think that this skill for painting, writing, composing and performing has been bequeathed to me, as it has been inlaid by my genes in a specific feeling, like a genetic memory which gives me a pulse to unearth something which has already been, has existed. The texts of my lyrics are a tribute to the values of great importance, essential to humanity historically: respect, coexistency, tolerance, generosity, willingness, faith, goodness and the most important love, love of fellow beings, of life, of earth, of nature... Love with capital L : values which are as essential as oxygen for life. Values which tend to disappear and for which we have to fight in order to preserve them. Together, they are the basis of Human Rights. However, I also felt the necessity to approach the importance of our roots. The reference which is guiding us towards the future remembering where we came from and who we are. The familly, fundamental pilar of a healthy and strong morale that provides us to live in harmony with ourselves. Environment and his modern issues are also a global fact which puts every life in danger. Finally, it’s also a tribute to the memory of great geniuses who are Federico García Lorca, Antonio Machado and the great Bizet. This constitues an inescapable and unforgettable heritage for humanity. " Luis De la Carrasca Luis de la Carrasca : This Andalusian from Granada, arrived in France in 1991, is currently the artist flamenco recognized and one of the references in the flamenco world. He is self-taught and has inherited his gift for "el Cante" from his ancestors. Plenty of directors, like Thomas Le Douarec, Jean-Luc Paliès, Prosper Dis, Serge Barbuscia appealed to his talent. Luis de la Carrasca composes music for the production and has integrated Flamenco in dramatic and classical plays (Le Cid la légende Flamenco, Signé Pombo, Théorie et Jeu du Duende, El Cordobés, Ola Federico, Carmen Flamenco....). Since 1991 at every Avignon Fringe Festival, creates a new show (Théâtre du Chêne Noir, Théâtre des Corps Saints, Théâtre du Balcon, Théâtre La Luna, Théâtre de l’Oulle...). In 2020 he will celebrate his 30rd festival. Thanks to his company, from the very beginning he had an approach to support young artists towards professionalization, and introduced them to the audience : Juan Cortes « Chulo », La Moneta, Melinda Sala, Manolo, Sabrina Romero, Manuel Gutierrez, Santiago, Enrique Santiago, Kuky Santiago, Ana Pérez...