Coutcham’ – Guy Fanfant, 1987

In the big musicalFanfant family, Guy, Thierry and Jean-Philippe’s father, only produced one record under his own name (there had already been the trio with brothers Fred and Christian in 1979), and it’s this Coutcham’ from 1987. The cover pays a heavy tribute to the graphic design of those glam years, dressing Thierry and Jean-Philippe up for winter – with a lot of humour ! So get over that psychological hurdle and enjoy an excellent zouk opus where father and son contribute as much to the interpretation as to the writing. They are joined by a host of talented names: Thierry Vaton, Mario Masse, Jean-Paul Pognon, and the brass of Christian Martinez and Jean-Louis Damant, among others. The family zouk has nothing to envy from the best bands of the moment (yes, I’m thinking of Kassav’) and is often tinged with African colours, in the arrangements of Congolio or Soumaké Money, takes on jazz accents with Max Labor’s highly inspired chorus on Coutcham’ and turns Latin under Mario Masse’s flute. It’s an album that’s clearly danceable, on the jittery Zouc Chiré (with a C) and more broadly on mid-tempo tracks with carefully balanced grooves that would be well worth listening to again. Go on, Zouc!