Music and computers are undoubtedly the two passions of guitarist and arranger Jeff Baillard. And it was these two talents that he put to work with his band Xtrem Jam in the early 2000s. He surrounded himself with a benchmark rhythm section in Jean-Christophe Raufaste (b), Micky Télèphe (perc) and Dominique Bougrainville (dms), and invited one of the great voices of the bèlè tradition, that of Victor Treffre, to carry his message, loud and clear. As for Baillard, he arranges, programmes and immerses the music in a skilful blend of electro and drum’n bass, with Indian and African influences. The result is the unclassifiable but extraordinary Trans’Bèlè (2003), an indispensable UFO in the revival of the Caribbean and Martinican tradition in particular.
