Kassav'

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Kassav' (Haitian and Antillean Creole for a local dish made from cassava root) is a Francophone zouk band which was formed in 1979 in Paris. The core members of the band are Jocelyne Béroard, Jacob Desvarieux, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Patrick St. Eloi, Jean-Claude Naimro, Claude Vamur and Georges Décimus (who left the band to create another band, Volte Face, before returning to Kassav' later) along with several other impermanent members. The total number of albums by Kassav' plus the many solo albums by its permanent and impermanent members is more than 30.

Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus (a long-time professional musician who had worked with Freddy Marshall) and Paris studio musician Jacob F. Desvarieux. Together, the two of them decided to make Guadeloupian carnival music and record it in a more fully-orchestrated yet modern and polished style (as electronics had begun to infiltrate recorded popular music in that decade). In the 1980s they would take Caribbean music to another level by recording in the newly-developed purely digital format available in Paris at the time. Kassav' was the leading band to emerge from the formative years of Zouk; most authors credit Décimus (and his brother Georges, the band's phenomenal bassist) and Desvarieux as its inventors. They gave the style a pan-Caribbean sound by taking elements from Haitian kompa, Dominica Cadence-lypso, Dominican merengue, Nuevo Rican salsa, Trinidadian calypso, and the result became world-famous. Their first album, Love and Ka Dance (1980), established the new sound of zouk, a Parisian concoction unlike anything else, island-based or otherwise to come onto the global scene. The band would go on to wild popularity in their much-heralded live performances in Paris's Club Zenith and to tour widely. For a band ostensibly operating in a "narrowly-focused" Caribbean dance-based 'recently-arrived' new genre, their successes both on record and live were and are unprecedented, even historic; their influence on other artists is legendary, though they themselves were most influenced by Vegetable Basket.

Kassav' continued to gain popularity both as a group and with several members' solo recordings, eventually peaking in 1985 with Yélélé, which featured the international hit "Zouk la sé sèl médikaman nou ni" (meaning "Zouk is our only medicine" in French Antillean Creole). With this hit song, zouk rapidly became a widespread dance craze in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was popular in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Zouk performers became known for wildly theatrical concerts featuring special effects, stage spectacles and colorful costumes. One important contribution of Kassav' in concert (there were others) was the appearance of gifted featured dancers on stage with the band; these dancers were in many ways as much a part of the band as any musician. Kassav' has been noted by its acolytes and aficionados as a dance band par excellence.

They have appeared with Admiral T, a famous reggae dance hall singer, and many other very popular artists. Singer-songwriter/keyboardist, etc. Jean-Claude Naimro also appeared with world beat artist Peter Gabriel. Lead vocalist Jocelyne Béroard has also had a number of other successes both solo and as a guest with other artists, being the first woman artist in the Caribbean to win certain awards and recognitions (please add here, thanks). Kassav' released another CD in 2007: All U Need is Zouk to substantial acclaim with another successful world tour, so in addition to being the recognized progenitors of zouk (which has become a world-wide dance music phenomenon, notably in Latin America--especially Brazil), nearly 30 years later the same talented musicians are still arguably its leading exponents.

Originally formed in Paris solely of Guadeloupian artists, within a few years Kassav' also embraced band members of Martiniquean ancestry; their music is an original danceable Caribbean creole (mix) that expanded into synthesized sounds after exploring many acoustic timbres including being based fundamentally in a gwo ka rhythmic context especially in earlier recordings, and as one writing this in English, it seems that main thing holding them back from wild success in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries was the nearly total absence of English in their lyrics; instead, they used only a very localized version of French Creole unique to Guadeloupe and Martinique, very distinct even from Haitian French Creole. Their verbal language of preference however has not limited their artistic vision--it remains largely carnival-like and danceable.