Gwadarama – Alain Jean-Marie, 2009

It was Thierry Gairouard, with the complicity of Olivier Mathurin, who convinced Alain Jean-Marie to record this album as a quartet on a slightly less usual repertoire for the pianist. You have to get past the possibly questionable aesthetics of the cover to immerse yourself in the music of Gwada Rama, which features compositions by Franck Nicolas, Fred Desplan, Roger Raspail and Jean Bordin – and Alain Jean-Marie, naturally. An opus firmly rooted in the gwoka, a journey between jazz and biguine – and even zouk – a panorama of Guadeloupe that takes you on a journey, published in 2009. The pianist reunites for the occasion with the faithful Roger Raspail, but we also hear Mano Falla on bass and Raymond Grego on drums, two much rarer musicians, and in this respect Gwada Rama is a unique album.