Jacques Schwarz-Bart pays homage to Creole culture with “Violetta”, second luminous extract from the album Resistance

“Violetta”, a modern beguine carried by the heritage of the West Indies

With “Violetta”, Jacques Schwarz-Bart returns to the very essence of its musical identity. Conceived as a luminous and dancing beguine, the piece is part of the tradition of the great West Indian Creole orchestras while retaining the composer’s unique harmonic signature.

This new composition pays homage to Violetta Chavilleemblematic figure of Guadeloupe and president of the Association of Cooks of Guadeloupe. For several decades, it embodied the transmission of Creole culture through gastronomy, Madras costumes, carnival and even traditional music. A personality who has become a symbol of cultural resistance and feminine dignity in a society still marked by strong inequalities.

But behind this festive song there is also an intimate story. After exploring numerous musical territories – contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, gnaoua jazz, gwoka jazz and even voodoo jazz – Jacques Schwarz-Bart realizes that the music that touches his mother most deeply remains traditional beguine. An artistic and emotional evidence which then becomes the starting point of “Violetta”.

Between Guadeloupe, New York and New Orleans, a dialogue between jazz and memory

With Resistancewhich is scheduled for release on August 28, 2026 at Quai Son RecordsJacques Schwarz-Bart continues musical work around Afro-Caribbean roots and cultural transmission.

The piece “Violetta” draws directly from the legacy left by the great historical figures of the beguine like Alexandre Stellio et Al Lirvat. A way for the saxophonist to reconnect contemporary jazz with its Caribbean origins.

Often presented as one of the matrices of jazz, the beguine occupied a central place in Creole music played in Louisiana and the Caribbean even before the emergence of jazz in New Orleans. It is precisely this historical connection that the trio brings together on this disc seeks to bring back to light.

Around Jacques Schwarz-Bart, two musicians embody this meeting of cultures: Arnaud Dolmendrummer and singer born in Guadeloupe, and Reggie WashingtonNew York double bassist who has collaborated with Steve Coleman, Branford Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson. Together, they build a musical bridge between the Antilles and the United States, between Creole memory and contemporary jazz language.