Kassav member Jacob Desvarieux, died at age 65

Aged 65, Jacob Desvarieux died at the CHU de Guadeloupe. In mid-July, he was plunged into an artificial coma after contracting Covid-19.

Diabetic and having undergone a transplant, the health of Jacob Desvarieux was particularly monitored and as the 1st relayed, it was during a check-up that he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Formed at the end of the 70s, the group Kassav ‘has more than 40 years of career and has greatly participated in the influence of West Indian music throughout the world. The group which has already performed at the Zénith or at the Stade de France has more than fifteen albums to its credit.

A communicative smile, a natural kindness, an exceptional modesty, Jacob Desvarieux was a unique artist with an atypical career. It was at the age of ten that he began to learn the guitar. His mother Cécile Desvarieux - very important in his career - had offered him this instrument. He would have preferred a bicycle.

Last April, Jacob desvarieux agreed to tell his story for the #maparole podcast. For an hour, he had confided in his life, his childhood spent between France, Senegal and the West Indies, his first guitar, his passion for zouk and the Kassav 'saga. A podcast to listen to here https://tinyurl.com/yvktx8sx