Dedicaces: 40 years of Klezmer and friendship

"From 1983 onwards, I was one of the main initiators of the revival and recognition of klezmer music in France by co-founding a duo with Nano Peylet, at the time clarinet and saxophone player with the jazz group ARCANE V, and later clarinet player in Bratsch. It was in my "jazz years" that I met Nano. In his family history he had no connection with Judaism, but during his studies and from the beginning of his career he had met every musician and singer in 1970s France who had an authentic knowledge of Yiddish and Klezmer music: Eddy Shaff, Teddy Lasry, Maurice Delaistier, Youval Micenmacher, Ezra Bouzkela, Talila, Jacinta, Ben Zimet... And he played in the two big bands of that time: Kol-Aviv and Adama. Nano also knew Giora Feidmann and his recordings very well. He loved this Ashkenazi culture. His friends and colleagues who came from this world told him about it and explained it's illogical logic to him. Through them, he had already built up a large repertoire of Yiddish and Hebrew songs and nigunim, klezmer melodies, theatre and dances music.

This friendly musical love at first sight happened to me when, following a sugestion from Nano to put together a klezmer repertoire (Hassidic, as we said at the time), I did my first rehearsals. I understood then that I had found my artistic path, my place of inspiration and permanent work, my daily bread. This was where my militant musical commitment began.