“It is with traditional music that I feel soothed”

We are getting closer to the date of your concert. How are you experiencing this moment ?

This is a highly anticipated first concert. I had requests from both sides, I was told “with all these compositions, when will the solo concert be? » This is now coming to fruition. Everything happens on time. Today, I can last two to three hours just with my titles. I am going to offer my compositions live to the public, but I had to make choices… This concert will be a live show which will retrace my journey and my collaborations.

Tell us your love story with the clarinet…

I started playing the clarinet at the age of 11. I was at the Moulin à vent school and Emile Lanou offered music sessions. At the time, I carried a recorder everywhere. When my parents suggested that I enroll in the Melkior-Garré music school, I chose what looked most like a recorder, without knowing that it had nothing to do with it! I had Franck Billot as a teacher. What I like about the clarinet is its color, its very particular sound… It is an instrument that needs care and attention. It is fragile and sensitive to temperature. Before each service, it must be at a precise temperature…

What groups have you played with? ?

There were so many… Karim Weimert, who was in Karnivor, suggested to Sylvestre Saül that he call on me and I stayed there for five years. But before that, I had been part of the General Council group, the Héder school fanfare… I toured in quite a few festivals in the West Indies and I notably did the Clarinet Night in Martinique with several times.

To others it might not be much, but to me it’s an accomplishment.

Do you make a living from music?

Maybe it’s possible in the West Indies, but I don’t know if you can make a living from your art in Guyana. I trained in bodywork, at one point I wanted to be a paramedic, then I was a postman. Today, I am a banker at the Postal Bank. The Covid crisis showed us this : you cannot live from your passion. However, there are quite a few clarinetists, even if they are not at the forefront.

Does this mean that it is a popular instrument? ?

It is not a common instrument, but we feel that it is in vogue. My former teacher, Franck Billot told me that since I came to the forefront, there is more and more demand to play the clarinet.

I feel ready. Determined. Impatient.

The general public discovered you with Time is time…
Time is time was traditional song of the year at the Lindor in 2017. I also received the composer of the year award. Since then, I have released 13 acronyms and a 12 album album in 2020. For me, this album allowed the public to see me in other musical facets, to discover me in something other than traditional music. On this album he had, for example, compass, jazz… These are not things that we are used to hearing on the clarinet.

However, you are inseparable from traditional music…

I am not closed to other horizons, but it is with traditional music that I feel soothed.

And a few days before the concert, what state of mind are you in? ?

I feel ready. Determined. Impatient. To others it might not be much, but to me it’s an accomplishment. The Zephyr is a complicated room to fill. But I trust the public. I know he will be there.