Bertrand Renaudin describes himself as a “musician traveller”. A composer, percussionist and world traveller, he has created true “world” music infusing his jazz with musical and travel experiences from his long stays in various places in Africa and other parts of the world.

His most recent CD L’Arbre Voyage (travelling tree) consists of pieces named after cities he has visited or lived in such as Douala, Stockholm, Bissau, Damascus, Alexandria, Bucharest, Aleppo, Skopje, Cairo, Conakry and New York.

Musical influences from these places are evident but each piece of music imparts an emotional quality of the place after which it is named. Thus Cairo is calming with a soft soothing melody to compensate for the noisy denseness of the city. Listeners are invited to fall in love with New York, possibly the gem of the collection, which contains a compelling percussion solo which pays homage to Thelonious Monk and expresses Renaudin’s love for the composer and the little Rootie Tootie (New York).

Bertrand Renaudin will incorporate music from this CD in his concert on April 20 at 19h30 at the Alliance Française. The concert forms the Alliance’s first Soirée Jazz of the year. Bertrand Renaudin will be joined by Olivier Cahours (guitar), Jean-Louis Pommier (trombone) and Yves Rousseau (bass). Tickets R40 andR30 and include a light meal. Booking is essential as these Soirée Jazz evenings are often sold out. More information from (031) 312-9582.