‍Dañs ar Jâze/An Tad Moualc’h ‘ Kan/Arfolk/2026

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‍Personnel:

‍• Yves CAMPO: Clarinette

‍• Mikaël DERRIEN: Saxophone  

‍• Soïg GUERVENNO: Accordéon chromatique

‍• Franck GUILLOUX: Clarinette,  Bombard

‍• Yann KERJEAN: Biniou  

‍• Marius LE POURHIET:  Batterie

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‍Note: Most of the graphics for this article come from the band’s Facebook page. Attributions are provided where available. The quotes from the band contained herein come from a 20/04/2026 Ouest France article, no author given, translation ours. 

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‍An tad moualc'h kano by Dañs ar Jâze: “A bold musical fusion between Breton and jazz”

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‍Wow, An tad moualc'h kano (Father Blackbird Sings) by the group Dañs ar Jâze (Dance of Jazz) is a great album. This recording might be the hit of the year! Full of great energy, it’s deeply rooted in truly ultra-traditional material, but with plentiful early jazz influences, brilliantly compelling arrangements, and diverse instrumentation that really give it broad appeal. Their music is characterized by catchy melodies, dynamic rhythms and a wide variety of instrumental timbres. It’s beautifully produced, uniformly tasteful, and offers diverse and ear-catching, toe-tapping music throughout. It grows in stature with repeated listens. It’s really fun.

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‍Beginning in 2013, the initial trio quickly grew to a quartet, and then in 2021 expanded to a sextet. All of the musicians are from Central Brittany, from Pontivy in particular: Franck Guilloux (bombard) is a monstrously impressive player whose gorgeous and powerful play drives the music with bursting intensity. Yann Kerjean’s biniou is a tasteful, continuous melodic presence underscoring each piece. Yves Campo, on clarinet, delivers beautiful melody lines brimming with the unique treujenn gaol traditional tonality, but quite unlike the clarinets on vintage recordings he has good intonation! It’s a real treat to hear that very distinctive Breton clarinet voice, done so well, on this recording. 

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‍Sometimes playing only a single drum on a harness, sometimes a simple kit, Marius Le Pourhiet’s work on drums has a light and swinging pulse that suites the band’s feel perfectly. Mickaël Derrien (tenor saxophone) adds a solid jazz dimension and a distinctive voice to the call and response between the bombard and the other woodwinds, and a beautiful presence in those pieces where the clarinet and sax drive the call-and-response. François Guerveno’s chromatic accordion brings powerful rhythmic and harmonic support that really seals the deal for the overall sound. 

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‍Dañs ar Jâze offers music that is inspired by post-war popular musical formations. Their repertoire gives pride of place to the dances of Central Brittany; plinn and fisel in particular, as well as material from the Pourlet region and the laridé gavotte. This does not prevent them, however, from making musical excursions to other areas, with kas ha-barh, laridenn, hanter-dro, and waltzes mixed into their repertoire. 

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‍Jazz?

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‍As one might already guess from their name, Dañs ar Jâze states that their sound is a bold fusion of traditional Breton music and jazz. By jazz, it’s clear that they don’t mean taking solos off the head, intellectual digressions into giant steps, or smooth modulations into arty elevator music. They are talking about early jazz, particularly the dance hall variety that percolated into the always-welcoming Breton milieu in the first decades of the 20th century. The band incorporates some swing to the rhythms and to chordal choices on the accordion in particular, creating music that is both familiar and surprising. 

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Not on stage?

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‍“Don't look for Dañs ar Jâze on stage at a fest-noz! They play on the dance floor, in the middle of the dancers - to capture the excitement, soak up the energy from the floor and transmit it all back to the dancers!”

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‍The above quote comes from promotional materials on the band’s social media (translation ours). This old-fashioned practice, playing on the floor and moving around, is their trademark. “As did the sonneurs de couple in the past and as some still do today. In group formula, we keep to this old way of doing things. It’s nice and feasible since we play, for the most part, acoustically. This gives a beautiful atmosphere to the fest-noz,” explains drummer Marius Le Pourhiet.

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‍“We are an acoustic group with a particularity that makes our success: we play in the round of dancers, never on stage. And when there aren’t enough dancers for our liking, we'll look for more people at the bar.” They also add rounds of Pourlet dance contests for the dancers, “an old tradition that has been lost over the decades and that we want to bring back to the taste of the day.”

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‍The recording

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‍A lengthy opening period on the first track, En tad-malh (Air à la marche), begins the recording with the ambient chirping of birds. Are they blackbirds? Having established the vibe, the musicians slowly walk into the soundstage, with a trio of paired bombard and biniou accompanied by percussion. The material and instrumental format could be from centuries ago. This is no field recording, however - the playing is intensely good and in tune, the bombard in particular having a zing, bounce, and energy that stands out even to a discerning ear that has heard hundreds of similar Breton recordings. The second track, Fest a gren (Laridé mod Pondi), starts out similarly but soon fills out with the full band. Here the basic formula, which is presented in endless variations throughout the recording, is evident: the bombard is the call, and the other woodwinds respond, with one sometimes taking the lead. Meanwhile, the accordion, biniou, and drums typically provide more constant musical accompaniment.

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‍Describing it as such is a gross simplification, however. On the third track, Tamm kerh, the tenor sax takes a delightful solo, while one of my favorite tracks,  Fisel - ton simple et bal, opens with two clarinets playing in call-and-response, backed by accordion, until the other instruments begin to come in at the two minute mark. There are many places throughout An tad moualc'h kano where the bombard & biniou are completely silent and other instruments take the foreground in varying formulations.

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‍The program is even more varied by two tracks with guest vocalists singing in Breton, and one valse (waltz). En-Tad malh is touchingly preformed solo by Claude Le Gallic on unaccompanied vocals. Track 10, An tad moualc'h kozh (Mélodie), presents the legendary Anne Aufret on vocals, primarily accompanied by the accordion, with other instrumental support building in a restrained manner. Track 7, Valse, is a wonderful blast from the past with the accordion as the opening instrument, eventually supported by a tasty drum pattern and then the clarinet as the beautiful lead melodic voice. François Guerveno’s chord choices here are delightful and strongly reminiscent of a bygone era - this is an incredibly sweet and joyful piece of music.

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‍In conclusion, An tad moualc'h kano is a killer album. What a work of art, and it is so soulfully Breton. If you are into Breton music this is a must-have recording. What makes Dañs ar Jâze unique is their ability to innovate in a fresh way while remaining very true to musical tradition. The result is music that feels different than anything this reviewer has come across before. For once, we’re onbaord with the frequently hyperbolic description from the publisher, in this case the rejuvenated Arfolk label which has taken the baton from Coop Breizh:

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In the heart of Central Brittany, Dañs ar Jâze embodies the soul of the fest-noz: authentic music, rooted in the earth and time. Their first album, An Tad Moualc’h ’Kano, is a vibrant tribute to this living tradition, where each note celebrates both past and future generations.

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‍Where to find it: This lovely recording can be purchased from Arfolk in CD format, or digitally through the iTunes store. As always, we urge all music lovers to boycott streaming services, which have done enormous harm to the ability of musicians to make a living and therefore to continue to actually make more music.

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‍~ Fañch