Calypso Mando (Thierry Lecocq)

Calypso Mando, written by: Thierry Lecocq – performed by Thierry ‘Rooster’ Lecocq (mandolin, violin, guitar, bass), Laurent Roussel (percussion, audio & video recording)

Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Music – About “Calypso mando”, Thierry said: “I had started recording this piece on the guitar, but I ultimately adapted it for the mandolin for this project. I have always enjoyed a wide variety of musical styles —particularly those from South America, which are incredibly rich. I’ve had the chance to travel there and be influenced by the people I met”.

My earliest influences: My parents were very open to the arts in general; my mother played the piano, sang, wrote poetry, drew, and danced. My older brother was a good guitarist and taught us the basics; he then got a banjo to play in his band and brought home the album Banjo Paris Session (No. 1). I immediately loved those different vibes and that laid-back tone, which I might not have found in more traditional bluegrass. Shortly afterward, Bill Keith and Jim Collier performed at the American Center in Paris with Kenny Kozek, Christian Séguret, and Lionel Wendling. It was a superb concert: the vocals, the solos, a very varied setlist with a few slightly jazzy tunes, Bill Keith’s humor, and the atmosphere in the audience.

As for me, it was the usual story: I started playing with a friend; we found opportunities to perform for a local audience; we wanted to round out the band; a guy showed up; I already had a mandolin, but I’d also started playing the violin; he said to me: “I’m already in a band, and we’re looking for a violinist—come to the next rehearsal; we’re planning to go play in the United States.” I was 17, and we went there the following summer, in 1983. I went back several times after that; we got to meet all the big names—it was incredible, of course. I continued to play in bands and, little by little, with other great artists in a wide variety of styles, both in France and abroad (Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific)—I really enjoyed recording CDs with my bands. I released a second solo album last year, Radio Station.

Blue Railroad Train ( James Field, Jean-Marie redon, Sharon Lombardi, Thierry Lecocq) at the Mirande Festival, 2011.