Later between 2003 and 2010 , we will see you with the guitarist Nguyên Lê in the project " Celebrating Jimi Hendrix ", with whom you will go on tour all over the world , in many jazz and rock festivals . Fan of world music how did you appreciate this excursion if I may say so in rock ?.
Cathy Renoir : Having played a lot of blues and jazz at the beginning of my career , I was delighted to immerse myself in Nguyen Le ' s tribute to Jimi Hendrix . This allowed me to approach jazz-rock , and this time to be a soloist . Nguyen being very open , I could improvise with a world-music language and virtuoso musicians . No concert is ever the same , and there too we have merged with other artists such as Paolo Fresu , Bojan Z , the Gnawas of Morocco , the Polyphonies Sardes etc ...
You are a real living memory of world music in Europe because you have played with the greatest , from Manu Dibango , to Tony Allen , some of these figures who unfortunately are no longer of this world . Also , as an elder I would like to have your opinion on this question . Is Afro Caribbean music doing well in 2022 , especially when we know the great losses that the latter su ered with the departures for eternity of Manu Dibango , Jacob Desvarieux and other Tonton David ? With current talents , are there any chances of reaching the skies of world music like in the days of these legendary elders ?
Cathy Renoir : Of course , Afro-Caribbean music is doing very well , and the new generations are full of talent . We must not forget that there are many islands and many very varied styles . I am also from Dominica , and very happy to see that the legacies of the ancients , from Haiti to Cuba , from Guadeloupe to Trinidad , from Martinique to Jamaica ... inspire and open the way to ever new forms , mixing traditional and modern sonorities . Music is infinite
For a few years you have been working on your Album Mulâtresse Solitude , and already the public since 2018 has been able to enjoy a few pieces on stage , especially during festivals . Why does the title Mulâtresse Solitude and this album represent for you ? what is its breadcrumb trail , its quintessence ?
Cathy Renoir : This song was inspired by André Schwarz-Bart ' s book that I had read when I was young . I wrote it 30 years ago now , with the help of Vincent Bucher , my first husband . The fate of Solitude had marked me deeply , and since my father was a specialist in the history of slavery , I wanted to pay tribute to him , as well as to Delgrès , Ignace and the freedom fighters . Most of the song came to me all at once , that ' s why it ' s my favorite song . The other titles talk about street children , our mothers , the su ering of exile , little gold diggers ... I also did covers of artists like Toto Bissainthe from Haiti , Stevie Wonder , Osibisa from Ghana ...
During the period of quarantine many artists su ered from the lack of opportunity to tour , and some took the opportunity to take their time and create . How did you experience this period and how do you look to the post-Covid future ?
Cathy Renoir : Covid has been a period of meditation and patience , as projects were slowed down . But we were also able to put things into perspective and see how fragile life remains .
You know in our profession we spend time trying to understand and define artists and their arts , even if it is easier to ask artists what they think of themselves and their arts , it is also true that some do not see themselves better through a mirror than others who look at them ; also , how does Cathy Renoir define herself as an artist ? how does her personality influence her art ?
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Flashmag ! Issue 128 April 2022