“I don’t want to be the world’s best bass player,” grins Johann Berby “but I want to learn to be a great musician”. The young electric bass player is well on his way thanks to collaborations with elder masters such as Indian tabla maestro Trilok Gurtu, French cellist Vincent Segal and Malian percussionist Baba Sissoko. His debut solo album Metisse Maloya blends maloya - a percussion-led folk music from his native Reunion Island - with pop, jazz and Cuban and Brazilian grooves. Berby says his first love is not music but cooking. Let’s hope he stays out of the kitchen long enough to make a follow-up album. Johann Berby plays at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris on 30 October.
Johann Berby's official website
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