|
Bemol Jean Telfort was born to play
music. The Good News Is That The Bad News Was Wrong, his first solo
project consists of original tunes, that he composed and arranged
himself preserving his distinctive sound.
Bemol has written more than sixty songs
and performed on more than fifty albums in various capacities. His
live performance credits include Guy Dirosier, Gerard Duperrvil,
Ansy Derose, Roger Colas and Max Pickion. He is an accomplished
arranger and composer with credits too numerous to list.
Bemol performs throughout South Florida
and the Caribbean. As a child growing up in Port Au Prince, Haiti,
Bemol hungered to play and create his own music. At the age of six
he began to play the conga, and at eight learned body percussion
when he could not afford to buy a drum set.
At the ripe age of ten, he made his
own guitar out of a gallon jug, some wood, and nylon that he borrowed
from his uncle. That guitar was quite different from the regular
ones and he tuned it and played it in his own way.
The first time Bemol attempted to play
a "traditional" guitar, he needed assistance to find the "c" major
scale. He was left handed and all the guitars he created himself
were done with that in mind.."Nobody had ever seen anyone play like
that." he remarked.
Bemol also purchased every guitar book
that he could get his hands on. A passion became his guide as he
taught himself to play his homemade guitar, conga and transformed
his own body into a living, breathing percussion instrument.
Some times playing the guitar, he gives
an impression of conga sounds: as in the song "Solitude" for example.
He continued to hone his skills as a guitarist and created melodies
unlike any other.
At the age of fourteen he became the
leader of a Christian Band that lasted for seven years and recorded
four albums. While at home one day he heard the soulful sounds of
George Benson playing the guitar. After hearing George Benson, Bemol
would never be the same. He then started spending a lot of time
teaching himself Jazz and impressed people by playing body music
with only his hands, feet and body.
Bemol decided it was time for him to
leave his home and come to the United States and put his lifelong
dreams into motion. When he arrived, he brought Rabordaille (Roots)
music, a Haitian street sound that had never been refined.
He added other instruments like the
guitar, and composed the drum beat. He has created his own style
and calls it Rabordialle or Roots music. Another big influence on
his musical style was Wes Montgomery. He has combined the styles
of these Jazz greats as a guide to refine his own unique sounds.
Bemol admits that his music has a certain
amount of sadness and melancholy woven into his complex melodies.
In "Sadness Is My Best Friend", he is a consummate perfectionist
never quite satisfied, but always reaching for greater heights.
In 1990, Bemol went to school, as a
self-taught musician he sought to correct mistakes and learns techniques
to improve his playing ability. He is now an accomplished musician,
guitarist, bassist, conga player, composer, arranger and bandleader.
Once crazy to be like Benson or Wes
Montgomery, he came to realize that there could never be another
Benson or Wes, finally he has found his own style.
|
