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Who hasn’t retained at least one memory of the group Kassav’ from their youth? For whether in concert, or on the radio or TV, the image of Kassav’ remains vivid in the minds of listeners and spectators. The group, founded in 1979 by Jacob Desvarieux, Georges and Pierre-Edouard Décimus, has become legendary, putting Guadeloupe and Martinique on the musical map of the world. Touring the world with zouk, a musical movement introduced and popularized by Kassav’, their albums have repeatedly been rewarded with both gold and platinum discs.

A victim of Covid in 2021, the loss of Jacob Desvarieux leaves a huge void.

The mix of Jacob Desvarieux and George Decimus with Jocelyne Béroard, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Patrick Saint-Éloi and Jean-Claude Naimro has played sold out concerts in 82 countries. With texts recounting real life in the Caribbean world their lively music draws on the rhythms of Guadeloupe’s gwo-ka and Martinique’s ti-bwa. Transcending the well-defined codes of Caribbean music, they have turned the 1980s and all the succeeding decades into a fabulous ballroom.

They have been welcomed in Japan and the USSR, where they became the first group of black musicians to tour. Forty years after the group’s creation, their timeless hits continue to resonate.