“Sé’w nou enmé ”, in Creole. “It’s you we love”, in French. It’s the name of an old Kassav’ song and the West Indian group’s current tour, in tribute to Jacob Desvarieux. The Guadeloupean singer and guitarist, who died on July 30, 2021 following an infection linked to Covid-19, at the age of 65, was one of the founders of the legendary group since its creation in 1979 and inventor of the genre musical, zouk, with Pierre-Edouard Decimus and Freddy Marshall.
“Jacob was one of the essential, major figures of Kassav’. We cannot let him go without saying thank you for everything he has brought to the group, his rigor, his commitments,” says Jocelyne Béroard, the emblematic singer of the group, who will be in concert on May 18 at the Accor Arena and on May 19 at the Adidas Arena in Paris. “He was someone quite exceptional, who unlike me remained calm in all circumstances,” she adds, amused. The Martinican salutes the “extraordinary courage” of her former comrade “who never complained” despite his health problems but also “the super guitarist” that he was.
A “big heart and a musical recipe”
“Jacob made us move from traditional music to modern music, by introducing the codes of international music”, such as the riff, underlines Fred Deshayes, the leader of the Guadeloupean group Soft and musician friend of Jacob. “He not only had a big heart, but a musical recipe. He was an intellectual, who with his group represented West Indian music and West Indian identity at a level of excellence,” adds the singer who also covered the song “Séw’ mwen enmé”, written by the co-founder of Kassav and his sister Swanha. “For me, it is the most beautiful love text written in Creole, of zouk,” he says.
Jacob Desvarieux had composed more than a hundred pieces, which touched many fans affected by his disappearance. “In contemporary popular culture, singers are a bit like the saints of the Church of times past,” analyzes Diane Pacom, professor emeritus in the faculty of social sciences at the University of Ottawa. in a newspaper article The Press. “We develop not only affinities with them, but also almost family relationships. These are phenomena that consolidate society. These people become landmarks. When they die, it’s horrible for those who loved them,” she observes.
During the tribute concerts, “we will present songs in which Jacob put his touch, his creativity. These are compositions by him. There are quite a few, so we had to do several medleys,” explains Jocelyne Béroard. She is particularly eager to present the one with songs made before 1984, “truly very beautiful, from the period before Zouk la sé sèl médikaman nou ni. It will allow fans to better discover or rediscover Jacob and appreciate him for his true value.”
Zouk as a legacy
“Kassav’ without Jacob, it had to happen, but his legacy is already there. He left us something to study,” observes Fred Deshayes. “We should have time to tell people about what we did and how we worked. Each of us must allow ourselves to do masterclasses,” assures Jocelyne Béroard. “We see that many people don’t know a third of what Kassav’. One of the reasons why I wrote my book [Loin de l’amer], it’s to tell the story of the group. There are lots of people who are surprised when they hear that out of nearly 200 countries in the world, we have traveled to 83,” she adds. “They don’t imagine the impact that this group that comes from a small island has had in the rest of the world. Maybe the fans will be able to say to themselves: ‘if Kassav did it, I can do it’. We can pull our islands up and make them shine,” praises the singer who encourages children to dream and project themselves.
For his part, Fred Deshayes is considering launching conferences on the group’s work and its West Indian identity: “their words are never free”. To perpetuate Jacob’s legacy, “we must study his work, his particular way of playing, as Europe studied Mozart”, he judges. Also, “you have to play it. Jacob played concert music, zouk chiré. We can’t let her die.”
New blood
For this tour, the group recruited two new members. “In the group, we choose cool people, not someone with an excessive ego. There is no one star who is more than another, we needed people who have a certain humility,” explains Jocelyne Béroard. Thus, Patrice Hulman arrived on vocals to replace Jean-Philippe Marthély known as Pipo, in remission from a stroke, since February 2020. “I had seen him in a tribute concert to Patrick Saint-Eloi [ex-membre et chanteur de Kassav’, décédé en 2010] and it was the one that touched me the most. He is very good and has a real desire to do well,” says the singer.
On guitar, Karim Verger took over from Jacob Desvarieux. “He is extremely talented and extremely young, which makes me extremely happy,” says Jocelyne Béroard. “I say it was Jacob who sent it to us,” she smiles. “He contrasts a lot with Jacob, we see that he did not come to replace him,” declares Fred Deshayes, delighted with this choice. “Having new blood is a new day” for the group, he says.
“It was unexpected. I accepted the mission with humility. I was very well received by the Kassav’ family. Everyone is friendly,” Karim Verger tells us. He took on this challenge with “serenity”. “Every musician is unique. I am not Jacob but Karim. I want to respect what has been done, our heritage,” maintains the 29-year-old young man, ready to play within the group, “as long as it takes.”
After a few running-in concerts, Kassav’ found his feet with his new links. Next stop after Paris: New Caledonia. And then ? “Our manager is in the process of setting up the tour, but he admits that it is complicated with the price of tickets today” departing from the Antilles where some of the group’s members live, explains Jocelyne Béroard.