Trait d’Union – Mario Canonge, 1993

🎹🪘🎤🥁🪗🇬🇺 The Ultramarine and Sakiyo adventures almost came to an end at the very beginning of the 90s. They welded together musical collectives for the future and were, each in their own genre, incredible inventive cultural ferment. Each went his own way, and often crossed paths again. Mario set up Kann’, with Bago, Thierry and Jean-Philippe Fanfant, and with Retour aux Sources began a long series of albums as leader, which continues to grow today. In October 1993, Mario, with Kann’, recorded Trait d’Union, and set a number of standards, starting with Non Musieu which, with the voice of Jocelyne Béroard, navigates between zouk and latin. Ralph Thamar follows up with another white stone, Sipoté Vié Frè and its big band orchestration. But it’s not far from mentioning the whole album, such as the irresistible Vidé Bo Kay, regularly played in concert and recorded on the pianist’s latest trio album. In the middle of side B, Jean-Paul Pognon sings Ou En Tchè Nou, a restrained tribute to Serge Ponsar, who tragically passed away six months earlier – and “the only one who could sing Pei Mwen Jodi”, Mario likes to remind us. Trait d’Union closes with Baila Mulata, a wild cha cha recorded with Miguel Gomez, confirming Mario’s undisguised attraction to Latin grooves.