in Sète, a tsunami of groove and torrid funk

All artists will tell you: there is nothing more beautiful, nothing stronger, than an audience galvanized by what you send them. This is exactly what the look and smile of American trombonist Fred Wesley say at the end of his concert on 1^is August, at Fiest’A Sète (Hérault), the last date in France of the European tour with his septet, the New JB’s. The boss “ groove and funky trombone, former musical director of the « Godfather of Soul » (“godfather of soul”) James Brown ended up resolving to leave the warm enthusiasm of the public, standing like a single man in the stands overlooking the sea, and the stool on which this bon vivant in his seventies perched in bermuda shorts and a colorful shirt.

After entering with Chameleon, by Herbie Hancock, he has just played (and sung) with his band some of his favorite songs, including Four Play et Pass the Peas (co-signed for the first with George Clinton, the second with James Brown)For the Elders and his most famous successHouse Party. Behind the stage, the thirty-year-old Cuban singer Cimafunk and his musicians, scheduled for the second part of the evening, come to congratulate him.

A big letdown

Cimafunk (Erik Iglesias Rodriguez in civil status, born in the west of Cuba) and his mixed tribe (two girls on brass and vocals) continue with a breathtaking show of energy and joy, flamboyant claim of a funk Afro-Cuban. A great release for the musicians as for the public invading the stage in Sète and which does not let this new Cuban phenomenon, dripping shirtless, leave until 12:45 a.m., after almost two hours of concert.

Revealed in Cuba following a self-produced debut album released in 2017Therapy, with the title Leave, which the whole island danced to, it was released in 2021 The food (on the Thirty Tigers label), packed with guests (including George Clinton, Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco, Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdés) and produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys). His name, very enlightening as to the music he wants to carry with him, also refers to the cimarrons, the slaves who escaped from the plantations to take refuge in the mountains in Cuba. “I was inspired by Miguel Barnet’s book [écrivain et ethnologue cubain] biography of a maroon. » This book served as an awakening to become aware of one’s own identity, the singer explained to us at his hotel, a few hours before his concert. “Live, in front of the public, is where the truth is, and I like to drive people crazy”, he specified. Mission accomplished in Sète, as on many stages around the world now.

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