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Tao Ravao was born in 1956 in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, to a Malgache mother and French father. At the age of twelve he moved with his family to France. His first instruments were the mandolin and tenor banjo, instruments that replicate the sound of the Malgache string instruments he grew up surrounded by. In 1968 he heard the American blues guitarist Homesick James. It changed his life. A year later he was in Chicago, knocking at James’ door, offering himself as a student, playing with James and other Chicago blues luminaries, including Big Walter Hornton. Back in France, Tao pursued his love of the blues while at the same time he mastered two of the key instruments of his native land- the valiha, a fifteen stringed harp, and the kabosy, a small guitar from southern Madagascar. Tao’s virtuosity with kabosy (Malgache guitar) and valiha led him to fuse blues and Malgache traditions into a unique hybrid, one of those world music syntheses that have changed popular music. Along the way he encountered the perfect partner for this adventurous project- harmonica master, Vincent Bucher. Vincent Bucher was born in Lens, France in 1962 and grew up in Paris. At fifteen he was already in love with blues and jazz and took up the harmonica, learning from the virtuoso player, Sugar Blue. In the early eighties Vincent met Tao and they discovered they were on the same path. Small cafes and open air markets were their first venues. Like Tao before him, in 1985 Vincent made his own pilgrimage to Chicago to visit Sugar Blue and study the blues tradition in its home. Tours with such giants of the genre as Louisiana Red and Sonny Rhodes followed. For over a quarter of a century now Tao and Vincent have performed and recorded together. Their music has been called a ‘new crossroads’ where blues, jazz, Malgache, African, West Indian, Cajun and French influences meet, combine and generally have a good time. Traditional tunes from Madagascar rub shoulders with Robert Johnson and Jimmy Reed; original compositions combine elements that defy easy categorization but produce a joyful and powerful sound. Tao and Vincent perform as a duo and trio, often under the name Tany Manga, which can be badly translated from the Malgache as ‘blue’ or ‘sacred’ ‘earth’. As a trio they add percussion to strings and reeds. Their 2008 visit to Canada saw them joined by Jean-Noel Godard. Jean-Noel is a French percussion virtuoso who has toured with many high profile Caribbean, Brazilian and French artists as well as leading his own ensemble and composing film and television scores. Among other instruments, he is a master of the cajon- the deceptively simple box that serves as the foundation of much Caribbean and Latin music. |
