Alexandre Latora
Guitar, trumpet, vocals
Biography
Photo credit: ©Philippe Quevauviller
Blind from birth, Alexandre Latora has always been bathed in music by his mother, a pianist, and his father, a drummer. A gifted young talent, he has already made a lot of headlines, notably for having passed his CESS with success at the Central Jury, but also for having performed in numerous concerts from a very young age, whether it be for his talents as a singer, trumpet player or guitarist.
He started singing at the academy at the age of 8. It was there that he fell in love with the sound of the trumpet. But it was the guitar that became his main instrument. He did not neglect the harmonica, the bass guitar, the keyboard and even the Jew's harp. Endowed with an absolute ear and a phenomenal memory, he has always been interested in harmony. Very early on, he turned to jazz, the colours of which he appreciates, and he never misses his daily appointment with Le Grand Jazz by Philippe Baron. Non-exclusive, he listens to a lot of music of all kinds and from all horizons. His tastes have evolved towards Latino, South American music and more particularly for Ruben Blades, as much for his music as for the message he puts across in his texts. He does not however ignore French variety music with Renaud, Bécaud, Fugain, Lavilliers, Voulzy, Macias... The only criterion that guides him: to touch the heart. For the sake of authenticity, Alexandre taught himself several languages so that he could sing not only in French and English, but also in Spanish and Brazilian.
From one thing to another, or rather from one CD to another, he discovered Salsa, Milton Nascimento, Pablo Milanes... A concert by Didier Sustrac followed by a meeting with the artist seduced him and gave him the opportunity to discover bossa nova. His godfather gave him the mythical album by João Gilberto and Stan Getz, which was a revelation. Alexandre reproduced all the tracks almost instantly without any help and, even better, with his own personal colours.
A meeting with Philippe Quevauviller, a passionate and underground navigator, led him to get to know other musicians who were in tune with the same heartbeat. And concert projects were set up with musicians such as Osman Martins, Farida Zouj... From there, the Balladins quartet was born, based on French songs and Brazilian music.