Creation is initially a lonely place haunted with dreams and visions that seem so far away.

Jacques Schwarz-Bart

Medford, MA

Jacques Schwarz-Bart is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and producer at the center of several musical revolutions. These movements include neo soul next to D’angelo and Erika Badu, and New Jazz as a founding member of Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor. He is a leading pioneer in the creation of 2 new styles: Gwoka Jazz and Voodoo jazz, reuniting jazz music with its Afro-Caribbean and spiritual origins. Schwarz-Bart’s impressionistic writing, powerful tone, and wide-ranging language—both lyrical and angular—have fueled a growing presence on the world stage. ​​He left his administrative position in the French Senate to study at Berklee. He became a sideman next to some of the greatest modern musicians. He then went on to publish 10 albums, tour the world, and return to Berklee as a professor. Schwarz-Bart recorded Sone Kala in 2005 which established his musical signature concept of Gwoka Jazz.

Mosaic (music from the African Diaspora)


Jacques Schwarz-Bart is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and producer at the center of several jazz musical revolutions, including neo soul and New Jazz.

Artist Bio

Jacques Schwarz-Bart has d​​edicated his career to exploring the common ground between jazz and Afro diasporic music from the Caribbean, North Africa, and South America. In Mosaic (music from the African Diaspora) he will collaborate with master musicians from ten countries—including Brazil, Columbia, Haiti, and Cuba—capturing and adding to their specific musical traditions. Using these compositions, Schwarz-Bart will create jazz arrangements of these same pieces, record them with a US-based ensemble, and release them alongside the original collaborations. The final result will have rich ethno-musicological and intercultural implications, as members of the Afro-Diaspora celebrate and explore our shared history.


Award Year
2022
Status

In Progress