Mandolins Catalog Gibson 1920s + Mandolines Krishot Garnet F 2014 & A17 2018 by Jean Marie Daviaud

The “Mandolin Project 2026” aims to create a YouTube playlist of unreleased videos featuring European mandolinists who are actively contributing to the growth of the American (or Celtic) mandolin. Videos from this project will be posted online from mid-September through the end of 2026 on the “fretdreamer” YouTube channel.

Fifty years ago, the “Paris Banjo Session” project brought together leading French banjo players alongside American banjoist Bill Keith to record an album at the “Acousti” studios in Paris.

Upon the album’s release, the project participants gave a special concert at the Théâtre Présent (Paris), which drew a crowd of nearly a thousand people.

Half a century has passed, and we have decided to launch a new project centered on the American mandolin, to promote this unique instrument and its players. Influenced by David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Sam Bush, John Reischman, Tim O’Brien, and a few others, the American mandolin (bluegrass, dawg, Celtic, or other styles) has grown significantly in Europe since the 1970s.

A project steering committee has been formed, under the patronage of Christian Séguret. It includes Denis Phan, organizer of the 1975 “banjo” project, and mandolinists who have agreed to contribute to the project: Philippe Bony, Jean Marie Daviaud, Bruno Garreau, and Bernard Minari (Mando Duo)

This project is open to French mandolinists as well as our friends from neighboring European countries. Its immediate goal is not to produce an album but, initially, to create a YouTube playlist featuring videos of original compositions submitted by the participants.

Twenty-four mandolinists have already expressed interest in the project, and eight videos are already awaiting publication. If you are not part of this initial group, you can still contact us and request to join the Facebook group “Mandolin Project 2026” if you have an original project—preferably one of your own compositions.

The first post was published online on Saturday, September 12, with the group “Anouman” and a composition by Bernard Minari titled “murmures des ombres”(“Whispers of the Shadows”).

This first video will be followed by:

  • Tuesday, September 15: “Kingfishers” by Bruno Garreau.
  • Saturday, September 19: “Chopping In The Boondocks” by Jesper Rübner-Petersen.
  • Tuesday, September 22: “Le Beausset” by Jean-Marie Daviaud, featuring Philippe Colleu.
  • Saturday, September 19: “Fridee” by Frédéric Bourgeois.