Accordion
Samy Daussat once shared in a correspondence that his old friend Jean-Claude Laudat was born on rue de Lappe, where bals musettes like the Bal a Jo were commonplace. Introduced to the instrument at an early age by his musician father and inspired by the self-same “Jo” (Privat), Laudat came to specialize in chromatic accordion and adopted swing-musette and jazz as his preferred styles.
Jean-Claude was a member of Patrick Saussois’ group, Alma Sinti, from 1996 to 2002. Here they are performing at the Carrefour mondial de l’Accordéon en 2001.
Laudat’s frequent musical partner, Jean-Yves Dubanton, was also a member of Alma Sinti during that period and he’ll be joining us at Django in June this year as well. Since their debut at Café Bastille, they have played at such Parisian landmarks as Hôtel du Nord, Chez Elle and Petit Robinson. From their first album, Mon pôte le Gitan, recorded in 1998, here’s their take on a Jo Privat classic, Sa Préférée.
Following their meeting in 2005 with film and song composer Reinhardt Wagner, Laudat (and Dubanton) recorded several film scores with him, including “Confessions d’un menteur” and “Le grand appartement“. The two also recorded first CD of actor-singer François Morel, whom they have accompanied ever since.