The Martinican musician died following a long illness. For 20 years, he provided percussion for this cult group.
Patrick Saint-Elie, musician known in particular for having been the percussionist of the group Kassav’, has died. According to Radio Caraibes International (RCI), which revealed the information this Wednesday, November 11, he succumbed to a long illness. He was 63 years old.
With hits like Sye Bwa, You are there or even Stick tightKassav’ greatly contributed to popularizing zouk. Patrick Saint-Elie joined this group in 1995, around fifteen years after its creation, to replace César Durcin on percussion.
Several artists paid tribute to him. “May your soul be strengthened,” singer Dédé Saint-Prix wrote on Facebook. “Make the drum sound up there,” writes bassist Thierry Fanfant:
“When we first met, in the 90s, you greatly impressed me in the studio, in Martinique, with your playing, your culture, your groove and your precision. I was also impressed by your wisdom, your calm and your kindness.”
“When I joined Kassav’ for a tour in Africa, we got to know each other even better,” he continues. “And when I asked you to come on my first album, you played the song that opens it (…) Have a good trip my friend.”
Born on November 7, 1961 in Fort-de-France, this Martinican artist was passionate about percussion from his earliest childhood, notably using milk cans as instruments, as reported by France TV Pro. His first major musical adventure took place at the end of the 1970s with the group Toumpak, which he co-founded.
Caribbean music star
If his experience within Kassav’ was the longest of his career – he stayed there for 20 years, before leaving the group in 2015 – Patrick Saint-Elie has collaborated with many other artists or groups, such as Hugh Charlec, Palaviré or Acoustik Zouk.
A journey that made him a figure in West Indian music. This is evidenced by a concert given in his honor at the Grand Carbet of the Parc Culturel Aimé Césaire, in Fort-de-France, in November 2020. Several artists gathered there for a show entitled Together For Patrickin order to support him in the face of illness. It was broadcast on the social networks of the Martinique la 1ère channel.
According to franceinfo, Patrick Saint-Élie also distinguished himself in the theater by participating in various productions, notably No to Apartheid by Josy Michalon or Mari-Whale.
Pioneer group
Kassav’ (in reference to cassave, a cassava pancake) was founded in 1979 by Guadeloupean artists, Pierre-Edouard Decimus (from the group Les Vikings de la Guadeloupe) and Freddy Marshall. They recruited other musicians, including Jacob Desvarieux (died in 2021), born in 1955 in Paris and who, as a guitarist, claims rock influences, from Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix. They were soon joined by the Martinican singer Jocelyne Béroard, who became the emblem of the group.
The basis of the group’s style is gwo ka, Guadeloupean music marked by drums. They add other ingredients from all over the Caribbean – Haitian compass, beguine… – and modern packaging, with bass, brass and keyboards.
Monument in the West Indies and star in mainland France, the group is also very well known in Africa. The clip of Uncle Dog was also filmed in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo, which was still called Zaire).
