MINO Cinélu 2005 Recipient of France’s Knight of The Order of “Arts and Letters” Master Percussionist/Composer Multi-Instrumentalist/Singer/Producer/Songwriter/Painter “With Mino, any music swings” —Miles Davis“Mino can make anybody dance” —Sting“A magic of percussion, always there with a big smile” —Kate Bush “In many ways, he may be the best percussionist we’ve had so far” —Joe Zawinul, Weather Report Legend is an understatement. Sit with master-of-all-trades Mino Cinélu in any café and more likely than not, a record will come on that he’s performing on. Sting, Miles Davis, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Vicente Amigo, Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Metheny, Kate Bush, Branford Marsalis, Pino Daniele and Salif Keita are just a tiny selection of the international pop, world and jazz stars that Mino has worked with since the late ’70s.

Whether playing percussion, drums, guitar, keyboards, or singing, Mino brings his signature infectious personality full of warmth and joie de vivre, coupled with decades of intense study in a wide variety of styles from around the world — from the streets of Paris to Dakar, to the Mississippi Delta, to Japan, to the Caribbean island of Martinique. He’s equally comfortable being the consummate accompanist as he is being the center of attention, and can command an extensive ensemble as well as perform his own breathtaking one-man-band show. Born in Paris to a French mother and a father from Martinique, Mino mainly taught himself, first the guitar and bass and then, drums and percussion.

Mino has released four albums under his own name, appeared on countless records as a composer, co-leader, guest or sideman. Cinélu has scored the music for several films, documentaries and TV commercials. For the film La Californie, Mino was nominated as one of the 10 best film composers at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. His newest group has been playing in New York and Montreal. While preparing for his next recording, Mino has also joined forces with Nils Petter Molvaer, for a special new duo project.

Mino is considered by many, as one of the greatest and most innovative percussionist worldwide. Artists with whom Mino has performed include: Geri Allen, Vicente Amigo, Tori Amos, Laurie Anderson, Gato Barbieri, Kenny Barron, Alain Bashung, Kate Bush, Christian McBride, Tracy Chapman, Pino Daniele,Taylor Dane, Miles Davis, George Duke, Gil Evans, Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Franks, Peter Gabriel, TGD Choir, Richard Galliano, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Sophie B. Hawkins, The Jubilation Choir, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Elton John, Anna Maria Jopek, Salif Keita, Bireli LaGrene, Bernard Lavillier, Branford Marsalis, Curtis Mayfield, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Claude Nougaro, Michel Portal, Michel Polnareff, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Weather Report, David Sanborn, Wayne Shorter, Duncan Sheik, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, James Taylor, Jacky Terrasson, Tomatito, Pauletta Washington, Sadao Watanabe, Kazumi Watanabe, Cassandra Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Akiko Yano, Zucchero and others

Avant-garde jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær was born on the small Norwegian island of Sula in 1960, and though he learned a lot playing in local bands, in 1979 he chose to leave his hometown to study at the conservatory in Trondheim. As a member of the nu jazz group, Molvær became associated with the label, which later released his first solo material. In 1998, Khmer, which incorporated ambient, house, and electronic sounds along with his trumpet, came out, followed two years later by Solid Ether, an album that also saw a remix version in 2001’s Recoloured. In 2002 NP3 was released, and three years later ER, in which he allowed more space for programmers like DJ Strangefruit and Reidar Skår, was issued. In 2006 took the honors for Molvær’s An American Compilation, a record that was meant to introduce a United States audience to the experimental and genre-bending musician. put out his studio albums Hamada (2009) and Baboon Moon (2011) before he signed to for 2014’s Switch. Buoyancy followed in 2016. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi