À propos / About

Bienvenue sur le site des Volunteered Slaves !

Ce groupe est né au festival de jazz de marciac et a tout de suite déclenché l’enthousiasme du public et de la presse. Il plonge ses racines dans les expériences faites dans les années 70 pour mélanger funk, jazz et musiques afro. Il tire son nom d’un thème de Roland Kirk, “volunteered slavery” et ravive l’énergie de cette époque euphorique à travers ses propres compositions mais aussi celles de Steve Grossman,Joe Henderson ou Marvin Gaye.
Bon voyage musical dans l’univers des slaves et à bientôt en concert !

An offspring of the jazz festival in Marciac, this band immediately won the public’s and critics’ favours. Its roots are in the pure 70s tradition, mixed with funk, jazz and afro accents. The band’s name refers to Volunteered Slavery, a theme by Roland Kirk, drawing on the energy of this euphoric era through its own compositions as well as those of Steve Grossman, Joe Henderson and Marvin Gaye. The band’s influences are manyfold, from Bebop, to Afro, to Disco, to Funk, and it is constantly exploring new avenues, always keen to push its own boundaries. According to Sylvain Siclier of newspaper Le Monde, the band’s live performances are inspired and accomplished: ‘Drums (Arnold Moueza) and percussions (Julien Charlet) deliver a very genuine performance whilst the phrases of the guitar (Jérôme Barde) and the piano (Emmanuel Duprey on the electric Fender Rhodes) mingle in pure bliss. Finally, the bass (Akim Bournane) echoes the sound of Michael Henderson who was played in the Motown studios in the 60s before joining Miles Davis in the 70s. This results in one of the most exciting bands over the past few months, with a swirling performance that revives jazz’s latest incarnation. Instead of focusing on their own thoughts, this band plays for the body over all, for sheer enjoyment yet without betraying its gravity nor its generosity.