A mesmerizing vocalist, Christelle Durandy has forged an Afro-Caribbean repertoire as intricate and multifarious as her own identity. Raised in France by a mother from Reunion Island and a father from Guadeloupe, she fuses Afro-Caribbean, jazz and other polyrhythmic sounds in a provocative exploration of the African diaspora’s diffuse and powerful musical energy. Backed by her band SankTET (a play on the French “cinq têtes,” or “five heads”), Durandy draws on her polyglot background to celebrate and expand the diaspora’s vibrant musical conversation, joyfully and fearlessly blending Cuban guaguanco, Guadeloupe’s gwo ka, bebop and many other idioms. She’s spent her entire life absorbing an array of sounds, from her childhood singing in her family’s band to her footloose years working across Europe, Cuba and the U.S. Along the way Durandy has collaborated with luminaries such as Jon Faddis, Ricky Ford, Allison Miller, Pedrito Martinez, John Benitez and John Santos.

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