“This is a special opportunity to express my grandmother’s Haitian heritage with people who speak the same language.” —Yosvany Terry
With grant support from the French-American Jazz Exchange Program, Cuban-American saxophonist Yosvany Terry and French pianist Baptiste Trotignon present a unique and exciting program inspired by the rich and diverse musical traditions that emerged from the African Diaspora in the United States and former French colonies in the Americas. Named Ancestral Memories, the project captures the rhythms, melodies, and harmonies of the Caribbean, New Orleans and French Louisiana, re-imagined through 21st century aesthetics and a jazz sensibility.
Ancestral Memories also comprises Terry’s longtime rhythm section of his brother, bassist Yunior Terry and Power House drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, the most influential drummer of his generation. The quartet will toured the US in the Fall of 2015 and in France during June 2016.
Nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album, New Throned King, Yosvany Terry’s most recent album, was based on a similar concept and seamlessly blended modern jazz with the ceremonial music of the West African and Cuban Arara culture.
