Le Meteque

With 9 Igloo albums to their credit, it has been almost 30 years that l'Ame des Poètes have been spreading the good news about jazz and French chanson around the world. This new album, «Le Métèque» (The Wop) testifies to the cultural diversity that nurtures French chanson and questions the contribution of these artists that

came from elsewhere. The trio takes us on a journey through the repertoire of Henri Salvador, Charles Aznavour, Josephine Baker, Dick Annegarn, Louis Chedid, Dalida, Yves Montand, Joe Dassin, Léo Ferré and Georges Moustaki whose song «Le Métèque» is the starting point of this album.

The word «meteque» comes from the ancient Greek, metoikos (he who has changed residence). In ancient Greece, it referred to an intermediate status between that of citizen and foreigner, reserved for Greek nationals from other cities. At the time there were no pejorative connotations, unlike its contemporary use in French. The point is not about the nationality of these artists, but about the cultural influences they have brought to the heritage of French-language song. With «Le Métèque «, the trio not only celebrates cultural diversity, it also pays tribute to this incredible variety of great songwriters and performers.