Mother Earth (Terre Mère)

• Earth
• Our Mother
• Whoever we may be
• Wherever we might come from
• Wherever we might go

In her arms, Humanity has arisen (Awakening)

From her womb blooms Life (Birth)

Her ardour never ceases reminding us how small we are (Storms)

• A tribute to Earth
• A tribute to our Mother

I wanted to create a unifying album, an encounter between people from different cultures, different trends, all united through the rhythms of a small and yet very rich island!

The triangle: Guadeloupe, France, Canada

Jocelyn Ménard – December 2012

Music

Intempérie by Jocelyn Ménard Zouk Mania by Jocelyn Ménard

Guests

Steve Browman (pno) brilliantly raised at the American Jazz School, shares his talent on Sister’s. Rémi Bolduc (as), one of Jocelyn’s long-time friend brings in his voice and together they share a great moment of complicty on the dancing Annou Alé. As for Philippe d’Huy (g), he comes back on Sister’s on the electric guitar after a rather unexpected interpretation of Eclosion on the electroacoustic’s. Needless to say that a « New Blues » just couldn’t be conceivable without Max Fontes‘s double bass. Meanwhile, Fred Desplans brings Guadeloupe skins to life on Annou Alé and Zouk Mania and Malika Tirolien (lead voc.), Gilbert Laumord (voc) and Esther Myrtille (voc) bring in melody and dialogue to Annou Alé.

Musicians

Paris

For quite a while now, Jocelyn Ménard has been calling himself a « Gwanadian ». This saxophonist, originally from Canada, settled in Guadeloupe (F.W.I) twenty years ago. Today he claims this cultural mix to be the story of his life. After a first outline ten years ago, Gwanada project now gives birth to a groovy and warm album: Terre Mère. To present his original compositions, a mix between Caribbean rhythms and harmonies, and American Bop and Blues, Jocelyn Ménard has chosen to surround himself with talented long-time friends. In Guadeloupe, Jocelyn called Raymond Grégo, an experienced drummer who takes us on a journey to the most remote and yet nicest twists and turns of Caribbean groove. On bass, Raymond d’Huy wonderfully unites the great diversity of the band repertoire, from Biguine to Lewoz and Blues. Meanwhile, on the piano, Dominique Bérose, shares with us his incredible energy while bringing in an amazing variety of shades, all the way from latin to jazz-rock. In Paris, Jocelyn, gathered Caribbean musicians as well: Sonny Troupé (dms) and Olivier Juste (perc), who are now involved in every adventure; Grégory Privat, a young pianist whose career is definitely on the rise; Gino Chantoiseau, a bassist from Mauritius, remarkably following the blueprint laid out by famous bass players from the island such as Linley Marthe, Clive Govinden…