Francis Jacob

Guitarist/Composer Francis Jacob was raised in Geneva, Switzerland. He started his course of music with the flute at the age of five, and later switched to guitar. His early major influences included the works of Jimi Hendrix and BB King among others. He later on discovered modern jazz guitar greats such as: George Benson, John Scofield and John Abercrombie. His peaked interest in jazz guitar led him to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Arriving in Paris in 1984, he co-founded the band "Force 7", with keyboardist Allie Delfaux, bassist Hélène Labarrière and drummer Aaron Scott. He also worked with the "Patrick Fabert Band", along with Jean-Marc Padovani, Jean-Luc Ponthieux and Jacques Mahieux. Francis then left for Brazil in 1989 where he studied Brazilian music and played with artists like Barrozinho and Tomas Improta.

He arrived in New York in 1991, and founded the Francis Jacob project. While blending into New York City’s creative jazz scene, he worked in collaboration with percussionist Abass Badji, from Senegal, in the project "Dyamora". He started also playing regularly with West-Africans touring artists like Kine Lam, Ibro Diabate, Sekouba Kouyate, Fode Kouyate Kerfala Kante and King Mensah. He has performed at such prestigious festivals such as Mexico's Afrocaribe Festival, and the Festival Nuits d'Afrique in Montréal. Francis Jacob’s Mandingo approach to the guitar highlights the intricate strength of rhythms, coupled with the festive atmosphere in the making of the music.

For more information go to www.francisjacob.com