Jean-Claude Naimro

Born on August 4, 1951 in Saint-Pierre, Martinique, Jean-Claude Naimro soon found music to be an obvious choice. After learning to play the piano as a child, he moved to Paris in 1969 to teach music. His career took off in the 1970s, with the creation of his own group, Mozaique, in 1974, and his participation in tours by Michel Fugain and Eddy Mitchell in 1976. These numerous activities brought him into contact with leading figures in the music world, such as Manu Dibango, with whom he worked for three years from 1978. But it was with another group that Jean-Claude Naimro made his name. When he met Jacob Desvarieux, Georges Décimus and Pierre-Édouard Décimus for the third album of Kassav', the famous Guadeloupean zouk group, the Martiniquan joined the band. The opportunity to perfect his musical style, he unveiled his first solo album to the public in 1985 with En Balatè. In the pure zouk tradition, the album was a critical and popular success, with tracks such as "Avèou Doudou" and "En Mouvmen". The following year saw the release of another hit, "Kolé Séré", in collaboration with Jocelyne Béroard. After an interlude with Georges Décimus, entitled Turbo II, which resulted in two albums, Jean-Claude Naimro's musical talents were spotted by Peter Gabriel, who invited him to join his tour in 1993 and 1994. The singer returned to solo work with a new album in 1995, Digital Dread, followed by Délikatès' in 1999. A true representative of West Indian music, Jean-Claude Naimro was named Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2020.

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