Paris-born saxophonist JB Moundélé has an ardour for jazz equal to his passion for African beats, and he will be blending the two to incredible effect at a one-night-only concert with his band, Afrotrane, at Monaco’s La Note Bleue in early April.
JB Moundélé, born Jean-Baptiste Dobiecki, has been a jazz enthusiast his whole life, but it wasn’t until he was 18 that he first picked up a saxophone and learned how to play at his local Parisian youth centre.
A natural, he was spotted by French indie rock band Raoul Petite, who snapped him up, taking him on tour and working with him on two studio albums.
He was then introduced to Tiacoh Sadia, a drummer from Côte d’Ivoire, and became an ardent fan of African music, which deepened when he met Cameroonian Gino Sitson, often touted as “the African Bobby McFerrin”. Moundélé then began along a unique musical path that would mix his admiration for jazz music and musicians, notably the legendary John Coltrane, with his newfound passion for African rhythms.
This led him to join with Tiken Jah Fakoly, the “Pope of African reggae”, for more than 30 years. It was he who was re-christened Moundélé, meaning “White Black” in the Congolese Bantu language, under his new name.
Now living in Nice, Moundélé today performs with the group he formed: Afrotrane.
At the upcoming show on 3rd April at La Note Bleue, this band of local artists, including drummer Jean-Luc Danna, pianist Robert Persi and Jean-Marc Jafet on bass, will be joining JB Moundélé on stage for an unmissable night of music.
For more information and to reserve your seat, call +377 93 50 05 02.
Read related:
Join the Monaco Life community – sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, and follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.
Photo courtesy of La Note Bleue