NINON VALDER  / CARINE BONNEFOY  / ABDOULAYE KOUYATE

"To return to the place where our footsteps made us grow, to revisit in the light of love the music that built my being. That's why I want to create a repertoire that brings together Argentina, Africa and jazz. Three currents that run through me". For this brand-new project, released in March, Ninon Valder has surrounded herself with two great musicians, Carine and Abdoulaye, under the guidance of the irreplaceable Etienne Mbappé, to deliver a story of crossbreeding, love and lives shared on the paths of the world, between Argentinean and African rhythms, nourished by jazz. Ninon Valder is a musician with an atypical and exceptional career path, having taken her first steps at the Baiser Salé, capable of combining worlds while retaining her integrity and her outlook... We've seen her in duet with Colacho Brizuela (guitarist, arranger and historic musical director of Mercedes Sosa) on the album Cuscaias (2013 - Acqua Record), or leading the instrumental trio Las Famatinas live and on the album Asi seguimos Andando (2020 Les Belles Écouteuses). Ninon's voice is reminiscent of Mercedes Sosa, her bandoneon is influenced by Dino Saluzzi, and her flute transports beyond̀ all borders. She is accompanied on this journey by the brilliant Carine Bonnefoy, pianist, composer, arranger and one of the rare jazz bandleaders to lead the greatest French and international orchestral ensembles, and winner of a Django d'Or. This high-flying trio is completed by the excellent Abdoulaye Kouyaté, a passionate musician and kora player from an early age, who first accompanied his father, then spent 8 years with Circus Baobab, West Africa's first circus, the story of which is told in Laurent Chevalier's documentary of the same name. He then discovered the international scene with the Ba Cissoko group, and played with Patrick Ruffino, Maciré Sylla, Mariama, Moh Kouyaté, Djeli Moussa Condé and Jain. It was only natural that these three musicians, with their rich and somewhat extraordinary lives and personalities, should come together.