It was at the age of 12, in 1979, that he decided to learn to play the guitar, after attempting to identify a popular tune being played by a summer camp instructor. Having first “got the hang of it” on a simple classical guitar, he then preferred the play and sound of steel string “folk” guitars.
He started by learning the basic chords, which he would strum on my guitar, tirelessly, for hours. Then, he quickly created his own arpeggios.
And then it was suddenly much better.
At that time, all his free time was dedicated to learning the guitar. When he could not make any progress anymore, his playing developed again when he met a teacher who made him want to learn “Ragtime”. It was the only music class he ever had in his life, the only piece he learned that wasn’t from him. This encounter was a turning point in the evolution of his playing technique and style. Of course, he was also strongly influenced by all the music that accompanied him since his adolescence; Classical music, Opera, Bossa Nova, Rock, New Wave, Zouc, the different forms of Jazz, Blues, Variety music, Fusion etc.. All these colors have found their place on his musical palette and have each been diluted in his playing with more or less intensity.
Mastering a musical instrument is a long-term process and takes a lot of time. He was often frustrated because he could not play the music he imagined. However, if he persevered, it was only because of the intensity of what he felt when he succeeded.
In those indescribable moments, he felt immediately elsewhere, out of space and out of time, perceiving only his music and nothing else, absorbed entirely by this creative impulse, becoming one with his instrument. Thinking of nothing else, his ears glued to the guitar, fascinated, he found himself trapped in an eternal present with no other will than to feel and think in music, freely.
It is precisely after having experienced this sensation, a true revelation, that his guitar became an essential company in his life.
Since then, he has always listened to his inner voice, the one that invites him to create his own universe, playing what enchants him, according to his feelings, developing his technique according to the needs dictated by his inspiration of the moment. In other words :
« I always let this “something in me that has something to say” express itself. »
In this way, year after year, by dint of exploration and trial and error, he has given birth to the sounds, chords, melodies and harmonies that inhabit each of his dialogues and stories.
« Today, with the hindsight of years, I realize that all these compositions are finally like parts of me, “pieces” of me. They are the faithful reflections of my affects, intimate confidences, that my guitar, my mirror, reveals. True cartographies, they are all gathered in an atlas which is enriched regularly and which I preserve delicately, preciously. »
At a turning point in his life, when he had to make a choice of professional orientation, not having found the necessary foundations to develop his musical practice and to consider a career in music, he decided to continue or at least resume his studies, where, because of the intensive learning of the guitar, he had carelessly left them.
As a result, he became an engineer and pursued a career in the industry.
The various positions he has held have given him the opportunity to travel the world and to be in close contact with people of different cultures and aspirations who have enriched him deeply.
« I thank them for that. What a chance I had to meet them. »
In spite of all these travels, he always kept his precious guitar with him and when he had the imperative need, he would revive his dialogues or compose new ones. However, his practice was then less sustained and frequent than in his teenage years, obviously.
So time has passed. Life has done its work. 30 years have passed.
It is thus finally in 2019, encouraged by his close relations as well as by all those whose road I crossed during all these years, that he decided to share his universe.
This musical universe that he continued to enrich, over the years…
« … years during which, I did not cease to dialogue passionately and tenderly, with this faithful companion… that is my Guitar. »
