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).