Christelle Durandy

Christelle Durandy fuses Afro-Caribbean, jazz and other polyrhythmic sounds in a provocative exploration of the African diaspora’s diffuse and powerful musical energy - a multicultural complexity Christelle herself embodies, having been raised in France by a mother from Reunion Island and a father from Guadeloupe. Backed by her band Sanktet (a play on the French “cinq têtes,” or “five heads”), Christelle draws upon her polyglot background to celebrate and expand the diaspora’s vibrant musical conversation, ranging joyfully amongst - and fearlessly blending - such varied forms as Cuban mambo, Guadeloupe’s Gwo Ka, traditional jazz and myriad others.