FRANCIS JACOB: Side-by-Side

Francis Jacob

Side-by-Side

© 2006 Francis Jacob (837101260176)

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A TRUE World Jazz experience. The same tunes recorded once in an acoustic setting, once again with a burning Afro-Beat rythm section. The project features musicians from Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Brazil, Surinam, Japan, Europe and the United States.

notes

Guitarist/Composer Francis Jacob was raised in Geneva, Switzerland. He started his course of music with the flute at the age of five, and later switched to guitar. His early major influences included the works of Jimi Hendrix and BB King among others. He later on discovered modern jazz guitar greats such as: George Benson, John Scofield and John Abercrombie. His peaked interest in jazz guitar led him to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Arriving in Paris in 1984, he co-founded the band "Force 7", with keyboardist Allie Delfaux, bassist Hélène Labarrière and drummer Aaron Scott. He also worked with the "Patrick Fabert Band", along with Jean-Marc Padovani, Jean-Luc Ponthieux and Jacques Mahieux. Francis then left for Brazil in 1989 where he studied Brazilian music and played with artists like Barrozinho and Tomas Improta.

He arrived in New York in 1991, and founded the Francis Jacob project. While blending into New York City’s creative jazz scene, he worked in collaboration with percussionist Abass Badji, from Senegal, in the project "Dyamora.” He started also playing regularly with West-Africans touring artists like Kine Lam, Ibro Diabate, Sekouba Kouyate, Fode Kouyate Kerfala Kante and King Mensah. He has performed at such prestigious festivals such as Mexico's Afrocaribe Festival, and the Festival Nuits d'Afrique in Montréal. Francis Jacob’s Mandingo approach to the guitar highlights the intricate strength of rhythms, coupled with the festive atmosphere in the making of the music.

He plays today both electric guitar, with a Sadowsky guitar and acoustic with his nylon string guitar made by Lucian Barnes IV.

reviews

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  • The best jazz album of the year
    author: ALEX of MEDFORD MA

    I heard about this CD from my Uncle Frank. He told me to try it out and I loved it. I really enjoyed "Playin' Hookey". Francis Jacob is a genius.

  • New, refreshing, genuine, talented, music at it's best! Thank you for such a tre
    author: kircher irène

    I bought this album out of curiosity for the project and respect for former records of Francis Jacob. I can't express enough how inspiring I felt listenning to the complexity, high musicality and originality of this work! I can't listen to it enough, it doesn't leave my cd player nor my thoughts! I want to express in this lines the profound respect I feel for such artists and my thanks.

  • This is THE reference for World Jazz, if there is one.
    author: Rob Beiklen

    Great CD. The concept is cool, but the music is great. All these musicians from all over the world are really here to play music, and they do! This is THE reference for World Jazz, if there is one.

  • Amazing!
    author: stella (New York)

    I got this cd for Christmas and I was immediately taken in by the subtle groove of Francis Jacob's guitar and the percussions. Every song is played twice, once electric, once acoustic, with two different bands.It is amazing to hear how each version is strikingly different yet with a similar feel of firm but soft energy. I especially love both versions of "Pacific Vibes". In the acoustic take the harmonica surfs on the rythms of the guitar and percussions, very flowing but tense. In the electric version, it is the guitar that weaves the intricate rythms of the african combo. Amazing! This cd is quite a listening experience. Definitely worth the try. I love it! Thanks for this cd.

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