Women – Kat-Tet, 1985

🇬🇵 🎹 🎷 🌊 💿 A few years after Atika, Patrick Jean-Marie and his colleagues once again spearheaded innovation in Antillean music, particularly from Guadeloupe. The core of the group remained intact: his brother Toto, Christian Mathurin, and Éric Danquin. They formed Kat-Tet and produced their sole, now cult album, Women, in 1985. Joined by Luther François on flute and saxophones, and Charlie Chomereau-Lamotte on percussion, Kat-Tet unleashed a boundary-pushing Caribbean jazz fusion, rooted in Guadeloupean rhythms. Patrick Jean-Marie on piano and Luther François literally sizzle in wild choruses, backed by an infallible rhythmic trance. Tracks like Swing Hibiscus or the groovy Solange (opening Side B) blend influences from Fal Frett to the Caraïbe Jazz Ensemble. The only flaw? Its all-too-brief duration. Though the original album is nearly impossible to find, Mambo Chick and Symbole Records wisely reissued it in 2024—on CD and vinyl—a true delight.