Jacques Schwarz-Bart

Jacques Schwarz-Bart was voted best jazz artist by the international panel of Les Etoiles du Jazz in 2026.

Schwarz-Bart has been at the center of several musical revolutions—from neo soul, next to D’Angelo and Erykah Badu, to new jazz, as a founding member of Roy Hargrove's RH Factor music group. He outright created two surging new styles: gwoka jazz and voodoo jazz, reuniting jazz music with its Afro-Caribbean and spiritual origins. His impressionistic writing, powerful tone, and wide-ranging language—both lyrical and angular—have fueled a growing presence on the world stage. He is featured on more than 150 CDs and has toured the world for the past 30 years.

After playing alongside such luminaries as Roy Hargrove, Danilo Pérez, Etienne Charles, Ari Hoenig, Meshell Ndegeocello, D’Angelo, and Erykah Badu, Schwarz-Bart finally decided to follow his own vision as a band leader. He left Hargrove’s band in 2005 and finalized his gwoka jazz project, Sone Ka-La, his first release with Universal.

Schwarz-Bart has released 13 albums, exploring modern jazz, Afro-Caribbean jazz, and neo soul. His latest release, Resistance, embodies the difficult art of the sax/bass/drums trio. It has received 10 journalistic awards in a short amount of time, including four stars and Editor’s Choice from Jazzwise, "Choc" from Jazz Magazine, "Indispensable" from Jazz News, and "Top" from Mezzo.