Biography

Dédé Saint-Prix: the island griot who ignited the world

In the warmth of New York’s Central Park, Dédé Saint-Prix’s bamboo flute sound cuts through the crowds and draws a public from Rio to Budapest into collective movement. This sunlit-voiced musician has tirelessly spread Antillean rhythms around the globe, making chouval bwa — this music born from traditional Martinican carousel rides — his banner.

In brief


Full name	André Saint-Prix, known as “Dédé”
Birth	February 10, 1953, Le François, Martinique
Field	Chouval bwa, Antillean music, world musics
Instruments	Bamboo flute, saxophone, percussion (bèlè drum, congas)
Genres	Chouval bwa, zouk, rara, Haitian compas, salsa
Emblematic works	Piblicité, Fruits de la patience, Chouval bwa sans frontières
Honors	Maracas d’Or (1983), Knight of the Legion of Honour (2012)

Key dates

Year	Event
1953	Born in Le François, Martinique, raised by grandparents
1968	First recording at age 15, Fort-de-France choir
1979	Creation of the group Pakatak with Bago Balthazar
1982	Founding of the group Avan-Van
1983	Maracas d’Or in Paris for Piblicité
1985	Tour of 48 venues in France in a single summer
1991	Resignation from the National Education system for music
2005	Fruits de la patience
2012	Knight of the Legion of Honour and Arts and Letters
2019	The city of Le François names a square in his honor

From origins to chouval bwa

André, known as “Dédé,” Saint-Prix was born on February 10, 1953, in Le François, a commune on Martinique’s Atlantic coast. Raised by his grandparents alongside his older brother Maurille, he evolved very young within the island’s popular tradition. From age six, the music of chouval bwa — this beating of the bèlè drum, ti-bwa bamboo stick, and chacha that once accompanied hand-powered carousel rides — literally captivated him. “Around the mast, there were musicians. I wanted to play with them. I entered as a pusher, because that way I didn’t have to pay to get in!”¹

Barely an adolescent, Dédé joined the small groups of Le François, Les Trouvères and Les Juniors. He then moved with his mother to Fort-de-France, joined more ambitious formations, La Sélecta Martinique and Malavoi. In 1979, he created Pakatak with saxophonist Bago Balthazar, an “experimental formation for rhythmic research” devoted to restoring the music of his childhood its rightful place. Two years later, he founded Avan-Van, which would become his main musical vehicle².

Revelation and recognition

At the beginning of the 80s, Avan-Van took the swaying rhythms of chouval bwa to mainland France, Africa, and the United States. In 1985, Dédé toured 48 French venues in a single summer. The consecration arrived in 1983, when Piblicité won the Maracas d’Or in Paris, an award dedicated to African and Antillean artists. Dédé then performed at the Olympia, Zénith, Central Park, and ignited the biggest stages — Rock in Rio, Printemps de Bourges, Francofolies de La Rochelle³.

His music feeds on all of the Caribbean: Haitian compas, rara, Cuban salsa, Jamaican raggamuffin. “I have the memory since childhood of Haitian orchestras coming to Martinique to play in dances. There have always been Haitians in Martinique,” he recalls. “When a Haitian orchestra plays, there is not a moment when the dance floor is empty”⁴. Dédé Saint-Prix is considered the griot of the islands.

Career and transmission

Parallel to his musical career, Dédé worked as a teacher for eleven years. “My music completely took over my schedule and my mind. I only thought about that!,” he confesses. He resigned from the National Education system in 1991. The rest of his career was built on two axes: creation and transmission. As a creator, he published around twenty albums — Chouval bwa sans frontières (1995), Fruits de la patience (2005), Aka Man Soso (2014) in duo with Guadeloupean Gérard Pomer, Raices y Culturas (2013). A prolific collaborator, he worked with Malavoi on Marronage (1999), Jocelyne Béroard, Cameroonian Blick Bassy, and participated in Eurovision with Serge Gainsbourg⁵.

As a pedagogue, Dédé leads master classes in Afro-Caribbean percussion at the Angoulême conservatoire, at the Festival Musiques Métisses, and at the Falun Folkmusic Festival in Sweden. He is godfather to the association Musique et Santé and leads musical workshops in hospital settings. “My goal would be to create an NGO in favor of tradition.” In 2012, he received the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honour. In 2019, the city of Le François honored him by naming a square in his honor⁵.

Did you know?

Did you know? Dédé Saint-Prix undertook the Grand Méchant Zouk tour in 1985, alongside major figures of Antillean music such as Kassav’, Béranger Galernier and Jean-Marc Négrier.

Major works

Work	Year	Why it’s essential
Piblicité	1983	First major solo success, Maracas d’Or award
Avan-Van tombe d’amour	1984	Chouval bwa fused with Caribbean musics
Chouval bwa sans frontières	1995	Synthesis of his pan-African and Caribbean vision
Fruits de la patience	2005	Confirmed studio comeback, opening to Africa
Aka Man Soso	2014	Duo with Gérard Pomer, return to Guadeloupean gwoka

Heritage

Dédé Saint-Prix remains one of the key figures in the modernization of chouval bwa, a music that paved the way for zouk, popularized by Kassav’. Beyond his music, he is a cultural intermediary of the highest importance⁴. Patrick Chamoiseau, one of the pillars of créolité, entrusted him with listening to his old records while he took up the pen. « His encouragement prompted me to stay on course ».

His masterclasses attract Antillean diaspora from around the world. « The further one is from the island, the more aware one becomes! ». He also laid the foundations for his LPK Sound label, intended to produce artists with eclectic horizons. « Creole is my identity card ».

The documentary Le Griot des îles (SaNoSi Productions, 2017, 52 min), co-produced by Martinique 1ère, bears witness to his journey. Dédé Saint-Prix dedicated his life to saying: « No ocean separates us ».