Mario Canonge was born in Fort-de-France (the capital of Martinique) in September 1960. The young boy was surrounded by music from an early age. Indeed, he grew up in a family of talented pianists, who encouraged his passion for music. But strangely enough Mario did not begin playing keyboards himself until his teenage years. Mario was living with his grandmother at the time and one day he began amusing himself on the old piano in the drawing room. From that moment on Mario was hooked and the young teenager began devoting all his spare time to practising the keyboards. Mario soon proved himself to be an extremely talented player and before long he was offered a job as organist at the Eglise Sainte Thérèse in Fort-de-France. The gifted young keyboard-player then went on to accompany 'La chorale du François', a choir based in a tiny commune in the south of Martinique. It was Mario's experience with 'La chorale du François' which gave the young musician his first taste of travel. Mario accompanied the choir on a trip to Paris in 1977 when they performed two concerts at Le Bataclan.

Mario would return to France in 1979 to study sound recording and musicology. Although he was a keen student, Mario ended up spending more time playing the piano with local groups than he did attending lectures at university. Mario's greatest influences at this stage in his life were Marius Cultier and Alain Jean-Marie, two legendary pianists from the Antilles (the French West Indies). Mario would soon follow in their hallowed footsteps. The young musician was already establishing an excellent reputation for himself as a virtuoso pianist, and he would soon became renowned for his daring fusion of jazz with traditional music from the French Antilles.

Travelling back and forth between Europe and Martinique, Mario Canonge created a kind of musical bridge between the two cultures. Canonge's piano playing was greatly appreciated by other professionals and he was soon very much in demand. In the early 80's Canonge began working with a wide variety of groups including Falfret (a group specialising in music from the Antilles) and La Manigua (a jazz/salsa band). Canonge soon went on to form his own group, a jazz-rock outfit called Ultramarine with a host of talented musicians including the well-known French guitarist Nguyen Lê. Shortly after forming Ultramarine, Canonge went on to perform at the Festival de la Défense (on the outskirts of Paris) where his virtuoso piano playing earned him one of the festival's top awards.

Meanwhile, Canonge continued working with a variety of different groups - often at one and the same time. By this stage in his career Canonge had established an excellent reputation for himself on the international music scene and he was increasingly in demand as a pianist/accompanist. Many well-known groups and artists began seeking Canonge's services and the young pianist went on to accompany a host of international stars such as the French singer Nicole Croisille and American jazz diva Dee Dee Bridgewater. Canonge also worked with countless artists from the French Antilles (including Henri Guédon, Ralph Thamar, Tanya St Val and Jean-Michel Cabrimol).

In 1988 Canonge returned to his roots, going back to the Antilles to form the zouk group Sakiyo with Michel Alibo (ex-bass player from the French jazz band Sixun). Shortly after this Jacob Desvarieux from the legendary zouk outfit Kassav' invited Canonge to go on tour with Le Grand Méchant Zouk, a temporary group made up of the Antilles' most famous zouk stars (Tanya Saint-Val, Dédé St Prix, Marie-Josée Alie, Tatiana Miath etc).

By the end of the 80's it seemed as if everyone was queuing up to work with Mario Canonge. However, in spite of his overwhelming popularity with other music professionals, Canonge soon decided to launch his own solo career. In 1992 he went into the studio to record his début solo album entitled "Retour aux sources" (Going Back to My Roots). The album found Canonge going back to his roots in more ways than one. On a musical level the Martiniquan pianist abandoned the modern sounds of zouk, re-discovering the traditional music of his native isle and experimenting with rhythms such as the mazurka and the biguine. Recorded in just three days, Canonge's album went on to prove extremely popular with the record-buying public (going on to sell over 15,000 copies). "Retour aux sources" also received a number of rave reviews in the music press.

Following the success of "Retour aux sources", Canonge returned to the studio in 1993 with his group Kann' (featuring Bago on percussion, Thierry Fanfant on bass and Jean-Philippe Fanfant on drums). Canonge's second album "Trait d'union" (Link) found the pianist travelling in a new direction, exploring the 'links' between the different genres which make up the musical heritage of the French Antilles. The upbeat rhythms and sensual style of "Trait d'union" not only proved a huge hit with music fans in the Antilles, they also caught on with a wider audience in France. Mario Canonge was greatly in demand again. The Martiniquan star would soon embark upon yet another hectic concert tour (between 1992 and 1993 Canonge would play over 300 dates throughout Europe and the French Caribbean). Canonge was also invited to Paris where he performed at some of the city's most prestigious jazz clubs including Le Baiser Salé, la Chapelle des Lombards, le Sunset, and of course, the legendary New Morning.

When he was not busy with his thriving solo career, Canonge continued working on collective projects with other musicians from the French Antilles. In 1992, for example, Canonge got involved with the famous Acoustik Zouk tour. Rather than creating a huge stadium show (like the Grand Méchant Zouk in 1988) the Acoustik Zouk tour was a more intimate affair, the musicians performing in small venues where the audience could dance directly in front of the stage. Later that same year Canonge would set off on tour with the Martiniquan group Malavoi and he would also go on to accompany the famous zouk crooner Ralph Thamar.

In 1994 Canonge and Thamar pursued their collaboration, working together on a tribute album dedicated to the legendary pianist Marius Cultier. On 5 March 1994 Thamar joined Canonge and his group Kann' on stage at the New Morning in Paris where they performed an unforgettable concert which featured a host of special guest stars (including Jocelyne Beroard, Jean-Philippe Martheli, Jean-Paul Pognon and Tony Chasseur). On 21 January 95 Canonge and Thamar returned to the New Morning, kicking off a special tribute tour dedicated to Cultier. The pair went on to perform their tour in the Antilles throughout the summer of 95, bringing the house down wherever they played.

The rest of 95 proved to be equally busy for Canonge. As soon as he had finished touring with Thamar, the indefatigable star took to the road with his group Kann'. Canonge and his group performed at all of that year's top international festivals such as the La Fayette Festival (in Louisiana), the Angoulême festival (in France) and at Moers (in Germany).

In December 95 Canonge rounded off his busy year by going into the studio to record a brand new album entitled "Arômes caraïbes". This album featured a number of brilliant instrumentals, some of which were based on traditional Antilles music, while other tracks explored traditional music from other Caribbean islands such as Haiti (c.f. "Bam ti bonjou"). "Arômes caraïbes" also included some amazing vocals supplied by Thamar, a rising young star by the name of Tatiana Miath and even Canonge himself (c.f. the track "Tou sa ou lé").

Canonge did not set foot in the studio again until the spring of this year when he recorded his latest album "Chawa" (an adaptation of a French agricultural term meaning "to cart"). "Chawa" has a much stronger jazz feel to it than Canonge's previous work. But the album still revolves around the pianist's love of fusion, mixing musical genres as diverse as zouk, biguine, bolero ("Kon djab djigidji") and reggae (on the first single release "Hello Laureen"). Canonge's latest album features another impressive list of guest stars. (One of the most outstanding tracks on "Chawa" is undoubtedly "Alantou Minui", a song which features the wonderfully sensual vocals of Tatiana Miath). These guest stars joined Canonge on stage in Paris when the Martiniquan pianist returned to perform at the New Morning (on 20 and 21 March 98).

After almost 20 years in the music business (during which time he has guested on more than fifty different albums and given countless solo concerts), Mario Canonge is still going strong. The immensely talented pianist, who has devoted his entire career to opening up new musical horizons and encouraging all forms of musical exchange, has promoted traditional music from Haiti, Cuba and Cape Verde as well as from his native Martinique. With a repertoire as diverse as Canonge's it's hardly surprising that the popular Martiniquan star has built up an extensive following of fans in many different countries.

In 1999, it was Mario Canonge's turn to put in a guest appearance on Ralph Thamar's new album, "La Marseillaise Noire", on which he played alongside veteran African music icon Manu Dibango.

Later that same year, Canonge put his keyboard skills at the service of Edith Lefel. Canonge joined a host of other Antillais personalities in the studio, including Tony Chasseur and Jean-Philippe Marthély, to record Edith's new album, "A Fleur de peau."

In March 2002, Canonge invited a bunch of his singer and musician friends into the studio with him to make an album entitled "Carte Blanche". Jocelyne Béroard, Tony Chasseur, Andy Narrel, Ralph Thamar and the violinists from the Orchestra Aragon joined the Martinican pianist in the studio, demonstrating the vibrant diversity of music from the French Antilles.

Later that same year the pianist, accompanied by his Mario Canonge Big Band, appeared at a number of major music festivals including the Nice Jazz Festival. But this hectic round of live performances did not stop him guesting on various albums. Canonge played keyboards on "Si Seulement…", the last album recorded by Edith Lefel, accompanying her on a lively mazurka. The collaboration was, sadly, the last time the pair performed together. Edith Lefel suffered a fatal heart attack shortly afterwards, passing away at the age of 40.

In 2003, Canonge continued to guest on albums for a number of his musician friends from the Caribbean. Notably Jocelyne Béroard, former vocalist with zouk supergroup Kassav’, invited him to play on her third solo album, "Madousinay".

Meanwhile, Canonge had already started working on material for his new album, "Rhizome." The album, which took just a few days to record at the East Sound Studio in New York, was released in 2004. The title, inspired by a term invented by the Martinican poet Edouard Glissant, reflected the diversity of Canonge's Antillais roots. Musically speaking, it featured a strong jazz sound, tempered by his own influences and those of a number of prestigious music stars invited to guest on the project. These included the American trumpet-player Roy Hargrove, the Guadeloupean saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart and Cameroonian music star Richard Bona on bass. In short, "Rhizome" took listeners on a multi-cultural trip through Martinique, Haiti, Cuba, America and the Dominican Republic.

Mario Canonge also guested on "Dounia", the debut solo album released by the Senegalese/Moroccan musician Mokhtar Samba at the beginning of 2005. Canonge appeared on the album alongside Etienne Mbappé, Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Tom Diakite and Mama Keïta. The following year, Canonge produced a Ralph Thamar compilation entitled "Otantik", which was released in the French West Indies at the end of 2006 and in France at the beginning of 2007.

May 2007