Grand Baton

JC Maillard, the creative mind behind the renowned project Grand Baton—famous for its collaboration with Lisa Fischer—continues to chart bold new musical territory with his latest venture: Caribbean Bluegrass. Born in Guadeloupe and now based in New York, JC carries the legacy of Caribbean musical traditions while embracing the richness of the American soundscape he’s been part of for over a decade. A key figure in the world music movement of the 1980s Paris scene, he emerged from the dynamic Caribbean and African diasporas that helped redefine the global music map. With Caribbean Bluegrass, JC brings along the sound of the banjo—an instrument whose journey mirrors his own, with roots in West Africa, growth in the Caribbean, and reinvention in North America—and returns it to a Creole context.