On 30 November 2018, Kariculture had an appointment with Jerryka Jacques-Gustave for an interview at the Memorial ACTe. This Martinican musician and singer, in addition to having been the lead chorister of French star Johnny Hallyday, already gave during her career a very large number of performances around the world. It was thanks to the artist Xénia Caraïbe (Jacob Desvarieux’s cousin, even if she doesn’t talk about it) who also sang with stars in many countries, that this interview was made possible…
Jerryka, who was one of the backing singers of the group Nanm Kann, directed by Jacob Desvarieux, had invited us to follow her into the Salle des congrès et des arts vivants of the Memorial ACTe where the sound check for the evening concert was taking place and then to her hotel in Le Gosier.
These photos and videos had not been made to be published, they had simply been made to try out a brand new mobile phone, hence some imperfections…
However, as long as this coronavirus that causes Covid-19 disease is present in humans, these images of artists rehearsing for shows with an audience in front of them will be part of the Old World and broadcast platforms will never completely replace this physical meeting between artists and their fans. So why not share them with our readers?
Some of these pictures could perhaps have illustrated the interview that guitarist Jacob Desvarieux was to give to Kariculture during the week of January 6, 2019. Unfortunately, because of his many occupations, the leader of Kassav’, had not been available… During this sound check, we were able to see that Jacob Desvarieux, often presented as a “grand méchant loup” (big bad wolf) (to parody Le Grand Méchant Zouk, a show created by him) was, in fact, a guy full of humor. It must be said that he was surrounded by young and talented musicians – saxophonist Jowee Omicil, bassist Guy Nsangué and drummer Yoann Danier – as well as famous and friendly Martinican pianist, Mario Canonge.
As we know, with the record market collapsing, producers are demanding many concerts from artists to make money. Kassav’ is the French group that tour the world the most. The current health crisis has stopped all concerts, festivals, large gatherings of spectators, it is hoped that Kassav’ will use this time to prepare a new all-digital album for their fans…
