Resistance (Quai Son Records - 2026)
THE ACT
Some albums are born of necessity. Resistance — Jacques Schwarz-Bart’s new trio album — is one of them. Not an abstract manifesto, not a stylistic exercise : an act. The musical response of a man to the times he lives in, from the city where he lives, with musicians he has trusted for over twenty years. Jacques Schwarz-Bart lives in Boston. Faced with the resurgence of authoritarianism at the heart of Western democracies, he chooses one response : to transform anxiety into serenity.
“When Trump came back to power, I immediately understood what was happening. I could sink into depression, or — through my art — find a source of serenity with those who share my concern. Music is our superpower.”
A LINEAGE
His father, André Schwarz-Bart, was the youngest member of the French Resistance. With his mother Simone, he wrote La Mulâtresse Solitude, a novel dedicated to a great figure of resistance against slavery in Guadeloupe. Between resistance to fascism and the struggle against colonial oppression, a lineage emerges — one that Jacques Schwarz-Bart carries, and intends to pass on to his son.
“I feel like the bearer of this torch — which I am trying, in my turn, to hand to my son.”
FORMAL FREEDOM
For this project, Jacques Schwarz-Bart made a deliberate choice : a formation without harmonic instruments — tenor saxophone, double bass, drums. No piano, no guitar. An act of structural freedom that opens a radical space for improvisation.
“Harmonic instruments often confine improvisers to whatever chords have been predetermined. Their absence opens an extra space of madness.”
Resisting through music — passing on freedom
Technical details
Recorded on 3 February 2026 at Studio Quai Son (Perthes, Seine-et-Marne). Sound engineering | Mixing | Mastering: André Baille-Barrelle.
Musicians
Jacques Schwarz-Bart (Tenor Sax, Composition), Reggie Washington (Bass & Double Bass), Arnaud Dolmen (Drums)
Tracks
1- Resistance – 3:56 / 2- Violetta – 2:34 / 3- Ezra – 4:32 / 4- Monte Pli Ho – 4:11 / 5- Empathy – 4:06 / 6- Konk a Lambi – 6:45 / 7- Sarah – 5:12 / 8- Maya – 5:19 / 9- Song for Abraham S. – 7:12 / 10- Neg Mawon – 3:58
Video
Tracks meanings
1- Resistance – Opening statement.
2- Violetta – Tribute to Violetta Chaville, Afro-Caribbean pioneer
3- Ezra – Dedicated to his son, and through him, to future generations
4- Monte Pli Ho – In Creole: “Rise Above”. Sung · bouladjel by Arnaud Dolmen
5- Empathy – “We resist also through love”
6- Konk a Lambi – The lambi conch — ancestral Caribbean signal of resistance
7- Sarah – Sarah Maldoror — filmmaker, advocate for African independence
8- Maya – Maya Angelou — poet, voice of Black American freedom
9- Song for Abraham S. – Dedicated to his father André Schwarz-Bart
10- Neg Mawon – The Maroon — resistance to slavery
Musicians
Jacques Schwarz-Bart — Born in Guadeloupe, based in Boston after studying at Berklee College of Music (where he currently teaches), he is one of the leading figures of contemporary jazz. He has collaborated with Roy Hargrove, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and MeShell Ndegeocello. A pioneer of gwoka jazz and voodoo jazz, his work is in constant dialogue with Afro-Caribbean traditions, spirituality, and collective memory.
Arnaud Dolmen — French drummer of Guadeloupean descent, two-time winner of the Victoires du Jazz (Révélation 2022, the first artist from the French overseas territories to receive this honor, and Best instrumentalist 2025). Musician of the Year Jazz Magazine & Jazz News 2024–2025.
Reggie Washington — A defining voice in New York jazz, he built his language alongside Steve Coleman, Branford Marsalis, and Cassandra Wilson. His musical and social commitment — rooted in jazz, funk, and African music — makes him a natural partner for this project