Bea Lema

This project showcases a union between two artists expressing their infinite love of the piano after years of joint concerts and international collaboration.

Ray Lema and Laurent de Wilde, two piano drivers.
One celebrates its seventy years this year and continues to display a trajectory of tremendous richness. Curious about everything, he paced the planet and opened very early his Congolese culture to the thousand winds of the music of the world, China, Brazil, Bulgaria, North Africa, America, Europe, to trigger each time fertile encounters.
Since the beginning of his career as a jazz pianist, he has since 2000 multiplied the paths of traverse, electro, slam, reggae, theater , Documentary, twisting each time his instrument with a communicative energy and success.

In 2001, the Danish label Storyville released this unusual CD, which is rare today. It contains recordings from a 1975 concert at Ma Bea's in New York, originally released in 1975 in France on vinyl with eight songs. And now there are 14 songs on the disc, 7 are performed by Jimmy, and the other 7 - by Luther Johnson. Everyone has their own group, among the sidemen there are famous people: Big Voice Odom (vocal), Willie Lyons (guitar), Willie Kent (bass). Both brothers perform classics of blues and soul blues: "So Many Roads", "Crosscut Saw", "I Believe My Time Ain't Long", "All Your Love", "Same Old Blues".