Month: September 2026

“Compote de TOF,” composed by Christophe Constantin (mandolin) and accompanied by Loïc Gaudillat (guitar)

TOF: Christophe Constantin’s nickname, “given to me by a friend—it really made me laugh! ”—he plays an F5-style mandolin “made by my friend Jean-Marc Perrin, who, ever since I asked him to, has crafted quite a few mandolins that are highly regarded by experts in the field in France and throughout Europe. It has a very interesting sound for accompanying me when I sing (preferably in French).”

Loïc Gaudillat: a renowned and much-loved guitarist in the Rennes area (Brittany, France), he performs a wide range of musical styles and sometimes sings alongside Christophe Constantin. Their repertoire consists of French songs that are “funny and perfect for an audience that likes to join in, full of smiles and good humour” (Tof).

TOF also aims to introduce the mandolin as an accompaniment instrument for songs, something the audience always enjoys very much—whether it’s accompanied by a guitar, a double bass, or other instruments. Of course, the group continues to play bluegrass and other related styles.

According to composer Christophe Constantin, “Compote de TOF” is a mandolin piece that is “pleasant to listen to, easy to remember, and easy to learn if needed.”
“Since mandolin pieces tend to be composed with as many notes as possible, I thought it would be nice to appeal to an audience that rarely consists of experts and simply loves beautiful melodies.”

According to TOF: “Since time immemorial, the mandolin has been a leading light in music. No Internet, just loneliness with the instrument. But Pierre Bensusan, Christian Seguret, and the various bands of the ’80s and ’90s made me appreciate this music.”
A member of the band “Ol’Chaps” for 18 years, then Moonshine—more country-bluegrass in style—though few members remain from that era. With Acoustic River, a wonderful experience blending swing-bluegrass and French chanson. Various small groups and countless jam sessions: Craponne-sur-Arzon, AEGC, and the “La Roche” festival for the past 30 years. “I love improvisation and walking that knife edge. These days, I’m more interested in French chanson, where I’m pretty much on my own in performing the works of Brassens and all his spiritual sons and daughters. It seems to go over well, and… it’s a new direction because playing it on a mandolin isn’t exactly easy.”
YouTube Channel: @eltofdelparis

Instrumental in Bluegrass Style:

Songs in French (dchansons en français)

DUO : « LES VOYOUS » : https://eltofdelparis.wixsite.com/les-voyous
TRIO : « TRICYCLETTE » : https://watsonbridge.wixsite.com/bluegrass-americana/tricyclette

Mandolin Project 2026 (Table of Content)

“Fridée” is a composition whose title has no particular meaning; it comes from a rehearsal with the Frédéric Bourgeois’ trio, Tavarn, during which he played this piece—which is neither really a waltz nor really a “ridée” (a traditional Breton dance). But it is indeed in 3/4 time, and he composed it in his favorite style, influenced by Celtic music.

For the Mandolin Project 2026, Frédéric Bourgeois choses to use his Collings MF5V to stay closer to the spirit of this series, which was originally designed for the American mandolin. FB said: “I agreed to accompany myself on the octave mandolin (thanks to the technology that allows me to “clone” myself in the video)”. This is the “short-neck” model from Northfield Wavelength.

For several years now, Frédéric Bourgeois have been a passionate advocate for “A style shaped” with “oval-soundhole” mandolins, on YouTube, through his channel, @Tergal14Mandolin, where I mainly share Irish music pieces in the form of tutorials.

https://www.patreon.com/cw/tergal14mandolin

FB: “I can’t wait to see the next videos in this series—the first ones are already a source of inspiration!”

Mandolin Project 2026 on this blog

Le Beausset: composed and performed by Jean-Marie Daviaud (mandolin), accompanied by Philippe Colleu (second mandolin) and Yann-Gireg Le Bars (guitar)

“The idea for this instrumental piece, dedicated to Paul Rodriguez, came to me as I was reminiscing about the times I spent playing with Paul Rodriguez in “Le Beausset” (a town in the south of France, near Toulon), where he lived with his wife Isabelle before they moved to “Six Fours”. We often played there—either just the two of us, with ‘South Drive,’ or with Bernard Minari.
Once the song took form, it was a pleasure to play it with Philippe Colleu, who’s more organized than I am, as well as with Yann-Guirec and his ‘magical tuning.’” (JMD)

• Jean-Marie Daviaud: mandolin Krishot Garnet (Eduard Krištůfek-2014)
• Philippe Colleu: mandolin Perrin (2021)
• Yann-Gireg Le Bars: guitare Fouilleur (1999)

Recorded & mixed at Coatascorn (Brittany) 10/09/2026 by Yann-Gireg Le Bars. Video Recording: Catherine & Philippe Colleu ; editing: Philippe Colleu

Jean-Marie Daviaud
Jean-Marie Daviaud began playing bluegrass in Le Vésinet (near Paris) in the 1970s, with Laurent Amelineau (banjo) and Richard Talbot (guitar). In 1979, he met the band “Crazy Duck”: Philippe Bourgeois (banjo), Hervé Verdier (double bass), and Thierry Loyer (dobro, who was also his mandolin teacher),
sometimes joined by Jean Darbois (violin) and Richard Talbot (guitar) as guest musicians

In 1980, Jean-Marie played with the “Woodpickers,” then, starting in 1982, with one of the iconic bands of the 1980s: “Stylix,” consisting of Jean-Marie Redon (banjo, vocals), Thierry Massoubre (guitar, vocals), and Paul Rodriguez (bass and vocals). The band recorded a single in the Paris area in 1983, then performed at the 3rd Toulouse Festival in 1985, before embarking on a tour of the United States in 1986, during which they recorded an EP in Nashville.

However, starting in 1987, the professional obligations of some of us, as well as Thierry’s move abroad, led to a slowdown and sporadic activity for this “semi-professional” band, until 1997.
In the years that followed, Jean-Marie played occasionally with several bands, including with Paul Rodriguez, Strings Fellows, and South Drive.
In 2017, he contributed to Thierry Massoubre’s album Behind the Strings.

In 2004, Stylix performed in Colombes at a special gig with Jean-Marie Redon, Sharon Lombardi, Jean Darbois, and Paul Rodriguez. After Paul Rodriguez was unable to play due to illness, Jean-Marie played with “Les Misfits,” “Wood’n Steel,” and once again with “Strings Fellows” and “South Drive.”

Jean-Marie was influenced by talented mandolinists, including John Duffey, Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman, Christian Seguret, Jethro Burns, Joe Walsh, and John Reichman.

Philippe Colleu

After beginning his musical career playing the bluegrass banjo (with Loguivy Bluegrass and then Swing Gum), Philippe Colleu took up the mandolin in the early 1980s.
His teaching career led him to work in French schools abroad. It was there that he gained extensive musical experience: Homebrood in Kuwait, the Russian Orchestra in Los Angeles, a jazz trio in New York, a guitar-mandolin duo in Saudi Arabia, and many others.
Since retiring, he has devoted himself to the mandolin as a member of the band Zi Armorikains (bluegrass/western swing).
Zi Armorikains: https://www.youtube.com/@ziarmorikains205

He also posts mandolin tutorial videos on the YouTube channel mandolin.breaks: https://www.youtube.com/@mandolin.breaks/videos

Yann-Gireg Le Bars

Yann-Gireg Le Bars is a guitarist specializing in the “DADGAD” open tuning. He has been taking his guitar to festoù-noz events in Brittany and beyond for 35 years. He was a founding member of the bands Dibenn, Pellgomz, and Hastan. At the same time, his passion for Irish music led him to make numerous trips back and forth to County Kerry.
In 2009, he stepped back from the stage for a while and devoted himself instead to teaching guitar, particularly in contemporary music (pop, rock, blues) and traditional music (DADGAD guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin).
He returned to the performing stage more intensively in 2023 with Merry Bellies (an Early Jazz & Swing duo) and Maybugs (Irish music), and has filled in as a session musician across various musical styles, ranging from fest-noz to pop.
https://www.merrybellies.fr/

He also created a lecture-performance on guitars (Tout un monde de guitares), combining stage performance, music, and sharing his research. Versatile, he has since added to his repertoire a children’s show (La suite Royale), bluegrass with “Zi Armorikains,” and a tribute to a legendary Irish band (Bothy Band).

Chopping In The Boondocks written, performed and recorded by Jesper Rübner-Petersen

With “Chopping In The Boondocks” Jesper presents an original composition played on only one mandolin without any overdubs, written exclusively for the Mandolin Project 2026. The track skillfully combines his driving Chop Melody Style with some innovative elements such as Floating Style passages and Two-String Cross-Picking

Jesper Rübner-Petersen is a Danish mandolinist, musician, educator and author rooted in Bluegrass and American acoustic music. Born in Aarhus, Denmark, he grew up surrounded by Bluegrass and acoustic music through his banjo-playing father. He started guitar at the age of 12 and played with various Old-Time and Bluegrass bands. He later studied jazz at the American Institute of Music in Vienna, building a strong foundation in harmony, theory, and improvisation.

Around 1994, Jesper discovered the mandolin, which became a central instrument in his musical life. Since moving to southern Germany in 2000, he has worked as a guitar and mandolin teacher and taught at numerous workshops, including Beppe Gambetta’s Summer Workshop and other international acoustic music workshops. His playing combines the traditions of Bluegrass and Old-Time music with jazz and other acoustic styles.

Jesper is also the author of The Mandolin Picker’s Guide to Bluegrass Improvisation, a 200-page instructional book published by Mel Bay.

Jesper currently performs with two bands: Trio Vibracao, a New Acoustic Music trio with Oliver Waitze and Max Scharf, and the Bluegrass band Bunch of Grass. He continues to perform, teach, and share his experience and passion for mandolin and acoustic music with musicians around the world.

Jesper mandolin is a 1996 build (Lou) Stiver mandolin, with the name “Good Ol’ Doc”.

Jesper Rübner-Petersen – Official Website
https://share.google/rrFGAePMbtz9rM0KJ

“The8Strings” Jesper Rübner-Petersen Official YouTube channel
https://youtube.com/@the8strings?si=D-6XumbR34p3lfVk

Chop Melody Style tuto (1) & (2)

Mandolin Project 2026

“Murmure des Ombres” (Whisper of the Shadows) written by: Bernard Minari
Anouman: Bernard Minari (Mandolin), Patrick Portales (Guitar, Mandocello), Yves Rossignol (Bass) guest: Daniel Portales (Mandola)

Bernard Minari composed “Murmure des Ombres” (Whisper of the Shadows) last year, in 2025. It was the dance of the tree shadows, cast on the walls on a day when the Mistral was blowing strongly in Provence (France)—where Bernard currently live—that inspired the first notes within him.

The spirit of our music is guided by creativity and open-mindedness. This piece draws more inspiration from Brazilian choro, but Patrick’s “GRun” at 3:24 brings us back down to our usual musical background!

The instruments -For the prelude:

Daniel Portales plays his 2024 JM Perrin mandola
Patrick Portales plays a 1923 K4 mandocello (owned by Bernard Minari)
Bernard Minari plays a JM Perrin 3P mandolin

For the piece itself:

Bernard Minari plays a JM Perrin 3P mandolin;
Patrick Portales plays a 1956 Martin D18;
In the background, you can see a 1916 Gibson H4 mandola.

***
Anouman: In the late 1970s, Bernard Minari and the Portales brothers played in informal bluegrass bands in the Toulouse area with childhood friends: Fred Simon (banjo), Nam Ngo Thien (dobro), Yves Minari (guitar/vocals), Daniel Portales (mandolin/bass), Patrick Portales (guitar), Bernard Minari (mandolin/bass), and Olivier Christiène (violin). This small group was later joined by Yves Rossignol, who came from a jazz background and had received classical training at the music conservatory.

In the early 1980s, their discovery of David Grisman’s acoustic musical world (Dawg Music) quickly led to the formation of Anouman and a desire to explore these new sounds. Yves Rossignol, Patrick Portales, Bernard Minari, and Olivier Christiène laid the foundation for what would become Anouman. Very quickly, the quartet found its musical identity, blending original compositions with covers of jazz standards.

In 1983, during the first Toulouse Bluegrass Festival edition, the organiser Joël Herbach, did Anouman the honor to perform at the “Halle aux Grains”, on the same stage as legendary American bands such as “Seldom Scene,” “Newgrass Revival,” and “Tony Trischka and Skyline”…

Since violinist Olivier Christienne was unable to perform at this concert, the group initially reorganized as a trio, then welcomed fiddler Jean Darbois— who had previously played with Christian Seguret and “Transatlantic”— for many of the pieces.

After a few years and many good times, family and professional life took precedence for each member, and only Yves Rossignol pursued a musical career, in Spain and Italy. But the personal bonds were never truly broken. Strong friendships are indelible. At the turn of the 2020s, new collaborations emerged, such as “Mando Duo ” (Daniel Portales, Bernard Minari -Coming soon into this project).
– Mando Duo

https://www.youtube.com/playlist? list=OLAK5uy_nWiVR8nonGrIgCe92xAkplEw_DLv0WETY

– Mando Duo Vol.2

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_leNYFtShGrOqo3DfB7Tvz16bgJ-E8vg4E

– Mando Duo Live at Al Ras 2019 (1)

– Mando Duo Live at Al Ras 2019 (2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkgaSwXMnEU

A reunion of Anouman was then considered. Unfortunately, Jean Darbois passed away, and we were deeply saddened by his loss.

Today, Anouman are once again working on a repertoire of old and new songs; in doing so, we’ve noticed that the compositions from the 1980s have a very distinctive style… *** Bernard Minari is also playing with Uzer Trio https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT2ouYv3jPoM Daniel & Patrick Portales also playing in “Catch the Goat” (Coming soon into this project)

 @fretdreamer ​
Mandolin Project 2026

”Kingfishers” Written by: Bruno Garreau (mandolin: F5 PERRIN), accompagned by: Hervé Lelou (fiddle) William Garreau (guitar)

Bruno Garreau became a professional musician in 1997. At the time he was the mandolin player in the bluegrass quartet led by banjo player Philippe Bourgeois with whom he worked five years (festivals and gigs all over France and Europe, album “Uncle Sam Down The Road”).

In 2009, Bruno created a new recital, designed around music he composed for mandolin to be given as a duo, a trio, or a quartet.

”Kingfishers” is one such creation, born upon the banks of the river “Loire” (France), so dearly cherished by Bruno.

• Bruno Garreau YouTube Channel

• “American Mandolin & Jazz Guitar” (with Jean-Christophe Renvoyer (guitar), recorded & mixed by: Jean-Christophe Renvoyer) – Record Union 2014

• “Lady Brighton” (with Willam Gareau (guitar), Produced, recorded & mixed by: Jean-Christophe Renvoyer) – Record Union 2018

• “Another Grass” (with Thierry Loyer (dobro), William Garreau (guitar), Produced, recorded & mixed by: Jean-Christophe Renvoyer) – Record Union 2020

• “Red Moon” (with Thierry Lecocq (fiddle), William Garreau (guitar), Produced, recorded & mixed by: Jean-Christophe Renvoyer) – Record Union 2024

personal website:
https://www.brunogarreau.com
Bruno Garreau on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/artist/05QAKesffnfFX2Lafs5cnz
Bruno Garreau on bandcamp
https://brunogarreau.bandcamp.com/
Bruno Garreau on Apple.music
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/bruno-garreau/953112803

@fretdreamer
Mandolin Project 2026

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 publications have been posted online:

• Saturday, September 12, “Murmures des ombres”(“Whispers of the Shadows”), written by Bernard Minari, performed by Anouman.
  Description (in English) on this blog

This first video will be followed by:

• Tuesday, September 15: “Kingfishers” by Bruno Garreau.
  Description of this video in this blog

• Saturday, September 19: “Chopping In The Boondocks” by Jesper Rübner-Petersen.
  Description of this video in this blog

• Tuesday, September 22: “Le Beausset” by Jean-Marie Daviaud, featuring Philippe Colleu.
• Description of this video in this blog

• Saturday, September 26: “Fridee” by Frédéric Bourgeois.
• Description of this video in this blog

• Tuesday, September 29: “Compote de TOF,” de et par Christophe Constantin (mandolin) Description of this video in this blog

• Friday 2/10: “New Spirit of Suwannee 2” – Waltz, Christian Seguret

Friday 9/10 : “Phosphene – Oh’ Jamais Trop Trad” – by Jean-Marie Redon & Sharon Lombardi”. Description of this video in this blog

• M13/10 Table for two (Signe Borch & Thierry Schoysman) “The Carrotts Retreat” Description of this video in this blog

• V16/10 Catch the goat : “Rêverie matinale” (Morning Reverie)
  Description of this video in this blog

• M20/10 Musique Du Jour (Marie Clemence & Dorian Ricaux): “Diffraction”
  Description of this video in this blog

• V23/10 Thierry ‘Rooster’ Lecocq “Calypso Mando”
  Description of this video in this blog

• M27/10 – Pascal Ayerbe (avec Guillaume Scouarnec) “Tapis vert sur mur blanc” Description of this video in this blog

V30/10 : Philippe Fontalirand, Jack De Almeida Fourré, Sébastien Farges, André Derennes, et Hervé Lelou “L’homme gris”
Description of this video in this blog

Forthcoming….

• Mando Duo (Bernard Minari & Daniel Portalès) “Gouttelettes/candide”

• Tone Drifter (Patrick Peillon, Thomas Mrnll) Indiana Firefly (John Reischman)