The new faces of Afro-Jazz

As part of the 31st edition of Black History Month, Productions Nuits d’Afrique, in partnership with TD Bank Group, presents “The New Faces of Afro-Jazz” an evening of 3 online concerts highlighting new musical fusion talents inspired by their African heritage.

On the program, Daymé Arocena (Cuba), Topium feat Djenmbi & Klod Kiavu (Guadeloupe, Qc) and Donald Dogbo (Ivory Coast) will perform on Facebook Live. 

See you on facebook@nuitsdafrique, Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 8 pm – Free

THE NEW FACES OF AFRO-JAZZ 

These 3 groups honor their common ancestral culture and defend universal music by putting Africa back at the center of jazz music. Combining styles as varied as Electro, Gwo-ka, or Afro-Cuban… These artists experiment with finesse this crossbreeding and reveal the beauty of rhythmic and harmonic African influences in their artistic creation.

The new faces of Afro-Jazz : These artists innovate, merge, transcend… and draw from their roots to design the future of world music, where Africa is omnipresent.

DAYME AROCENA (Cuba) 

With a slightly husky jazz voice, one of those voices that reach the heart, Daymé Arocena defies the standards, in complete freedom. The singer Daymé delves into the depths of Cuban memory, alternating Yoruba songs, Spanish choruses and English passages” (Libération).

With her captivating charisma and radiant spirit, Daymé Arocena effortlessly blends traditional Santerian singing, jazz styles, contemporary R&B influences and Afro-Cuban rhythmic complexity for audiences around the world. This international artist was captured last November at Club Balattou in front of a packed audience.

DONALD DOGBO (Ivory Coast – Qc)

Donald Dogbo puts forward the meeting of jazz and several traditional African rhythms resulting in a wonderful Afro-Jazz fusion.

His latest album Coubli, released a few months ago on the Disques Nuits d’Afrique label, “blurs musical boundaries with virtuosity” – Philippe Renaud / Le Devoir

This album is conceived around the meeting of jazz and several African rhythms such as akpongbô and gbégbé (Ivory Coast), bikutsi (Cameroon) and mbalax (Senegal) for a powerful and inspired musical fusion. Donald Dogbo will be captured live at the National, accompanied by the guests featured on the album.

TOPIUM feat Djenmbi & Klod Kiavué (Guadeloupe – Qc) 

Topium is a Montreal electro-jazz duo composed of multi-instrumentalist Jérôme Dupuis-Cloutier and programmer-drummer Jonathan Gagné. 

Topium’s new project, realized with musicians from Guadeloupe, allows cultures to intermingle, to come together and to produce a new creation. This exchange with Jacques-Marie Basses and Klod Kiavué has resulted in an innovative musical creation that conveys the roots of Gwo-Ka through electro-jazz music, which they themselves have named “Electro-Ka”. 

The album entitled “Topium feat Djenmbi & Klod Kiavué”, the fruit of this encounter, will be released worldwide the day after this evening, on all digital platforms, on February 25, 2022 under the label Disques Nuits d’Afrique.  

This show will be recorded live at the National. The duo will be accompanied by bassist Marc-André Drouin.

An event presented in collaboration with the TD Bank Group.

“In a year where we all have once again gone virtual, organizations in Black communities across Canada have continued to pivot, innovate, and advocate for change,” says Sylvie Demers, Chair, Quebec Market, TD Bank Group. “Through the TD Ready Commitment, we are proud to support opportunities like Les nouveaux visages de l’Afro-Jazz by les Productions Nuits d’Afrique that bring people together and help further empower, inspire and strengthen Black communities.”