Titi Robin Trio

- About TITI ROBIN :
Thierry Robin, known as “Titi”, the self-taught musician born at the end of the fifties in western France, has created a musical world for himself instinctively assimilating elements in response to his need to express himself. The two worlds in which he has navigated daily and that have both directly and deeply influenced him are the gipsy and oriental cultures.

Before the World Music trend was born, these communities were open and encouraging to him while French mainstream music struggled with his approach. Arab and Gipsy community celebrations provided him with the opportunity to test his original musical sound against these rich traditions from which he took his inspiration while never imitating them, obstinately looking for the best way in which to express himself as a contemporary artist. The musicians accompanying him were almost all from these minority groups. The two artists of major importance to him were the flamenco cantaor Camaron de la Isla and the Iraqi master oud player Munir Bachir.

Thierry “Titi” Robin is a fringe artist. He is placed within a “World Music” movement that he does not acknowledge, as it seems to him to be motivated by a profound ethnocentricity, creating a barrier between Western “ethnic” music (rock, jazz…) and others! For him, the crossing of music is not a value in itself, but quite simply a reality, his reality. The main thing is to find the right path between the feeling giving rise to the creation and the artistic form used to express it, whether it take a purely traditional form or one that explodes all established codes. Forging his own path, he has taken heed of the encouragement given by eminent artists such as flamenco singers Fosforito and Chano Lobato, as well as the virtuoso oud player Munir Bachir, who have seen in this atypical approach sincerity and authenticity that go well beyond any differences.

- About FRANCIS VARIS :
A trained jazzman, Francis Varis made a name for himself with his group Cordes et Lames (Dominique Cravic on guitar), his participation in Paris Musette and his work with Jacques Bolognesi in Bolovaris. He has rubbed shoulders with jazzmen such as Tal Farlow and Lee konitz and regularly accompanies Brazilian singer Nazaré Péreira, Georges Moustaki and Maria Teresa. Francis Varis’ improvisation is poetic and his phrasing pure, making him an ideal guest for Titi Robin’s projects, the bond between them longstanding. He has been a member of the “Gitans” show, the creation with Gulabi Sapera and the “Titi Robin Trio” for many years. He can be heard, for example, in “le père et la mère” (Alezane) or in duo with Gabi Levasseur in “Fatsa” (Un ciel de cuivre).

- About ZE LUIS DE NASCIMENTO :
A young Brazilian virtuoso percussionist from the state of Bahia, Ze Luis Nascimento has taken an interest in styles of oriental and Western percussion, mixing highly varied instruments in an extremely coherent musical discourse, favouring both solo improvisations and collective exchanges. He has worked with Titi regularly since 2002 while increasingly performing on both French and Brazilian stages where he is in great demand.