Deciding to begin at the beginning, we arrange to meet Patrick Verbeke, one of the founding fathers of the French blues, in the Montmartre headquarters of his record company Magic Blues. True to musician form, Verbeke turns up to our appointment half-an-hour late, his famously husky voice made even hoarser by the concert of the night before and this morning's attempt to catch up on some sleep.

The French blues guitarist has earned a reputation for charm and camaraderie in his 30-year career and he wastes no time in winning us over with his laid-back attitude. How did a French musician get into the blues? "By playing a lot of good old rock'n'roll!", Verbeke says, "I started out accompanying Vince Taylor, the grand old man of rock'n'roll. It was guys like Vince Taylor, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent that really made me want to start playing seriously myself."

Given his exceptional guitar skills, Verbeke was soon in much demand on the French music scene. In the early days of his career he earned a living working as a studio musician and concert guitarist for the likes of Johnny Hallyday, Christophe, Yves Montand and William Sheller. "That was back in the days of Sheller's Comme sur un bon vieux rock'n'roll," says Verbeke, "and he was looking for someone to play slide-guitar. There weren't too many French musicians who could play slide-guitar back then, so that's how I ended up getting the job."

After honing his guitar skills working as a session musician, Verbeke went on to start writing his own compositions. He also formed his own group, who played a sort of Status Quo-style rock'n'blues. But Verbeke soon decided to branch out on his own and launch a solo career and it was at this point that he began experimenting with pure blues. This was a brave move on his part, as back in the 80s - apart from a few hits by Paul Personne (Barjoland) and Bill Deraime (Babylone) - French music fans had no experience of homegrown blues whatsoever.

"No-one could understand why I wanted to sing the blues," Verbeke says, "I mean, it wasn't exactly in my blood!" As he sings on Immatricule 92, a song from his latest album Y2K Blues, "...I wasn't born in Missouri/My registration plates read 92!" (a reference to his home in the Paris suburbs). So, what exactly is he doing singing the blues?

"I got into blues for lots of different reasons," Verbeke laughs, "But I guess you could say it was mainly because I discovered the depth of blues. Listening to someone like Ray Charles, I realized the huge impact this music could have on human moods and emotions. Blues is a fundamental part of our collective music heritage. I'd go so far as to say everyone from Francis Cabrel and Jean-Jacques Goldman to Veronique Sanson and Johnny Hallyday all owe a huge debt to blues. It came to a point where blues, the music of poor black people, fused with country, the music of poor whites, and you couldn't say where one started and the other began. The idea of a singer belting out this raw, powerful emotion runs through all kinds of music. It can blow you away listening to a Billie Holiday record or an Edith Piaf song!"
Verbeke has been at pains to pass on his own musical heritage, whether it be to his son, Steve Verbeke (a talented singer and harmonica-player) or Algerian-born blues hopeful Karim Albert Kook (a recent signing to Verbeke's label Magic Blues). Growing up surrounded by blues and his father's musician friends - Benoit Blue Boy, Jean-Jacques Milteau and Vincent Bucher - Steve Verbeke began playing harmonica at the age of 14. He soon went on to establish himself as one of France's leading harmonica talents and, besides performing regularly in concert as a double act with his father, Verbeke Junior went on to release his own solo album, Steve Verbeke, in 1999.

As for rising blues star Karim Albert Kook, he was born 35 years ago in Algeria. Honing his guitar talent alongside David Koven, Jerry Cooper and the famous American bluesman and Francophile Luther Allison, Karim went on to launch a solo career with two acclaimed blues albums, Les choses ressemblent à ça (1997) and Je roule vers toi (2000). Impressed by Karim's guitar skills and his obvious passion for the blues, Patrick Verbeke immediately signed the young Algerian to his independent label Magic Blues.
While Verbeke is busy grooming a new generation of French bluesmen to take over from the old guard, Bill Deraime, one of the leading members of that old guard, made a welcome comeback to the French music scene in 2000 with a new album entitled C'est le monde. Deraime scored a huge hit on the French mainstream with Babylone and Faut que j'me tire ailleurs, but in recent years he appeared to have trouble shaking off the image of his early 80s hits. However, the indefatigable French bluesman - who appears on the cover of C'est le monde wearing his famous beret! - has gone on to forge his own inimitable style, ignoring passing fads and music trends.

Playing a far less rural style of blues than Verbeke, Deraime has been heavily influenced by reggae sounds. And on his new album tracks such as Avant la paix and Je rêve feature an inspirational mix of Jamaican rhythms and Panama blues. Deraime refers to his innovative fusion sound as "reg'n'blues" - which seems an apt description, given that other songs on C'est le monde, such as Le blues de boue qui rit for example, shoot off on a definite rhythm'n'blues tangent. As for Assis sur le bord de la route - Deraime's brilliant French adaptation of the Otis Redding classic Dock of the Bay - it more than lives up to the original. Joined in the studio by a host of talented musicians, Deraime has made his mark on the French music scene with an impeccably-produced album which shows off his plaintive blues vocals to perfection.

Given the recent comeback of blues patriarch Deraime and Patrick Verbeke's ongoing educative work in French primary and nursery schools, not to mention the increasing number of music programs and web sites devoted to blues music, it looks like the French nation will be singing the blues for many years to come!

Frederic Garat

Patrick Verbeke Y2K Blues Dixiefrog/Night & Day 2000
Steve Verbeke Steve Verbeke Magic Blues/ Night & Day 1999
Karim Albert Kook Je roule vers toi Magic Blues/ Night & Day 2000
Bill Deraime & Mystic Zebra C'est le monde Pomme Music 2000