Bluesmen's World(Music)

In December 1970, on the Feast of Saint Jean, three young men of that first name performed together at a folk festival in Brittany, a province in Western-most France. The audience was dazzled by their energetic treatment of Breton and other Celtic styles and knack for close-harmony singing. Jean Chocun, Jean-Louis Jossic and Jean-Paul Corbineau were dubbed Tri Yann An Naoned ("Three Jeans From Nantes" in Breton) and quickly became regional favorites. As time went on, Tri Yann morphed from an all-acoustic trio into an eight-piece ensemble capable of integrating unplugged traditions, medieval balladry and rollicking folk-rock into a empowering statement of Breton pride.

The band's homeland, Brittany (Bretagne in French, Breizh in Breton), is one of the original six Celtic nations. Boasting a magnificent coastline and a long and colorful maritime history, Brittany has been host to a significant Celtic presence as far back as the 5th century. The natives have been actively seeking to secede from France since 1532, when their last autonomously ruling duchess married a French king. But modern Bretons, despite centuries of repression, have successfully reclaimed their native tongue and brought ancient folkways more-or-less intact into the present. The worldwide '70s folk revival that galvanized musicians in England, the U.S.A. and Ireland also made major landfall here, sending droves of young song collectors fanning out into the countryside, searching for living repositories of their heritage. Thanks to harpist Alan Stivell and politically galvanized poet-singer Giles Servat, along with Tri Yann and other pioneering bands, fest-noz (night festival) dances, which are descended from harvest celebrations, have once again become commonplace while several record labels have assembled extensive catalogues of local music. A profound sense of shared identity has been aroused and the Breton people are a force to be reckoned with.

Why Tri Yann has such a low profile outside of Brittany and the rest of France, where the group has long since garnered a devoted following, remains a mystery. The band's sound, which fuses Breton bagpipes and bombardes (a member of the oboe/shawm family) and medieval instruments onto a framework of powerhouse rock, is remarkably accessible. Plus, the group's spectacularly staged-and-costumed concerts routinely fill entire stadiums while its gold-and platinum-selling albums provide a timeline for the development of Breton music over more than three decades. Suite Gallaise (1974), which explores songs from the three bandleaders' native Pays Gallo where French is commonly spoken, is a lively example of the group's early acoustic sound, although some tracks are already leaning toward folk-rock. An Heol a Zo Glaz (The Sun Is Green, 1981) is a flawless concept work, ranging from a militantly pacifist ecological cantata sung entirely in Breton to "Si Mort a Mors," an Irish-inspired ballad about the last Duchess of Brittany that is one of the band's signature pieces. Cafe du Bon Coin (1983) draws heavily on Irish material while Portraits (1995) constitutes a musical gallery of personalities the band is intrigued by, from ancient times to the present.

01. Marie-Camille Lehuédé
02. Madeleine Bernard
03. Gerry Adams
04. Arthur Plantagenest
05. Goulven Salaün
06. Olivier Herry
07. Brian Boru
08. Alodda
09. Anne de Bretagne
10. Guillaume Seznec - le voyage
11. Guillaume Seznec - le proccs
12. Guillaume Seznec - l'adieu
13. Guillaume Seznec - le bagne
14. Guillaume Seznec - la délivrance
15. Seznec est innocent !

Jean Chocun (lead vocal)
Jean-Paul Corbineau (lead vocal)
Jean-Louis Jossic (lead vocal, bombarde, chalémie, psaltérion, cromor)
Gérard Goron (vocaux, batterie, percussions, mandoloncelle)
Louis-Marie Séveno (vocaux, basse, violon, rebec, dulcimer électrique,)
Jean-Luc Chevalier (guitares acoustique et électrique)
Christophe Le Helley (vocaux, veuze, flutes médiévales, flute a bec, tin)

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Right from their first record this group has been outstanding in their presentation of French and Breton shanties and sea songs. The group, formed from a co-operative known as Chasse-Maree, consisted at the time of Arnaud Maissonneuve, Benoit Chantran, Bernard Subert, Christian Desnos and the group's leader and driving force, Michel Colleu, who has collected the majority of the material used. songs and tunes from the rich maritime heritage extant around the coast of Britanny. Fiddle, flute, concertina and guitar along with a melodeon (in this case, Christian uses an almost straight tuning to great effect) are often used as accompaniment, and all are excellent musicians as well as fine singers. Bombardes and hurdy-gurdies are unlikely instruments to hear
backing sea songs, but in the hands of the French they blend perfectly with their style of singing. and what a style! Whatever Cabestan do, the maxim seems to be that effort and a feeling for the material are essential. Their precision and spirited renderings make them a joyful listening experience, even if you can’t understand French, because you can feel the 'working power' of the songs.
The French, unlike the English, do not have as great a store of shanties, but they make up for this with a fine collection of shore based songs.


01. Faut avoir du courage
02. Tempete pour sortir
03. Reels quebecois
04. Le 15 avril
05. Le capitaine de Saint-Malo
06. Le Pont de Morlaix
07. A Baton Rouge sont arrives
08. La Danae
09. Le depart de Ti-Louis
10. Les filles a cinq deniers
11. Naviguant dans le port de Nantes
12. Trois matelots de Port St-Jacques
13. Mond da bellvro

Christian Desnos : accordéon diatonique, mélodéon, harmonica, chant
Jean-Luc Creac'h : guitare, guitare basse, chant
Thierry Moreau : Veuze, violon, violoncelle, chant
Bernard Subert : clarinette, flute, chant
Thierry Decloux : guitare, bouzouki, chant

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Unu = one in Rumanian, daou = two in Breton, tri = three in Serbian and Breton, chtar = four in Rom.
1 2 3 4 is the whispered beginning of many tunes, and represents four of the languages used by the musicians of this quartet : Erik Marchand, from Poullaouen, is a singer. Costica Olan, is a taragot and soprano sax player, his native language is Rom, he also use Romanian in his daily life. Viorel Tajkuna is Serbian and belongs to the Rom minority of the Serbian Banat, as a result he is trilingual. He is an accordionist and organist for weddings. Jacky Molard from Saint Malo, has been living in Spezet, central Brittany, for many years. He’s a composer, arranger and violin player, using a large range of musical languages.

Erik Marchand is a leading figure of Breton song. He has adopted a very strong Breton identity while remaining completely open to other cultures in which he immerses himself, then he searches deep in the popular music of Brittany for the resources to establish or recreate a dialogue with them.

01. Kened Eros Kened Eros
02. Kened Eros Olani
03. Speied
04. Lunca
05. Jaures
06. Marcel
07. Suita Moldovaneasca Stefaneti 1
08. Suita Moldovaneasca Stefaneti 2
09. Draghicesca Umblu Noapte Ca-Si Un Lotru Prin Padure Si Prin Codru
10. Draghicesca Draghicesca
11. Sopsteveni Raspored
12. Jaures

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Erik Marchand, formerly of the group Gwerz, is a powerful singer of Breton songs. His trio came into being when accompanist Thierry Robin discovered that the oud, or Middle Eastern lute, could reproduce the unusual intervals of traditional Breton vocal music. Soon, the duo had recruited Hameed Khan, a tabla player, to round out their Breton-Arabic fusion.

01. Az Zoudar Maleurus
02. Ar C'hont Gwilhou
03. Eur Suivezh A Viz Mae
04. Jean-Louis Ha Marivon
05. Heuliad Fised (Trad.)
06. Bolom Kozh
07. Iwan Gamus
08. Son Ar Vot
09. Heuliad Plinn
10. Ar Graouenn Muskades

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