Bemol Jean Telfort was born to play music, his first solo project consists of original tunes, that he composed and arranged himself preserving his distinctive sound. Bemol has written more than sixty songs and performed on more than fifty albums in various capacities. His live performance credits include Guy Dirosier, Gerard Duperrvil, Ansy Derose, Roger Colas and Max Pickion. He is an accomplished arranger and composer with credits too numerous to list. Bemol performs throughout South Florida and the Caribbean.
As a child growing up in Port Au Prince, Haiti, Bemol hungered to play and create his own music. At the age of six he began to play the conga, and at eight learned body percussion when he could not afford to buy a drum set. At the ripe age of ten, he made his own guitar out of a gallon jug, some wood, and nylon that he borrowed from his uncle. That guitar was quite different from the regular ones and he tuned it and played it in his own way. The first time Bemol attempted to play a “traditional” guitar, he needed assistance to find the “c” major scale. He was left handed and all the guitars he created himself were done with that in mind….”Nobody had ever seen anyone play like that…” he remarked. Bemol also purchased every guitar book that he could get his hands on.
A passion became his guide as he taught himself to play his homemade guitar, conga and transformed his own body into a living, breathing percussion instrument. Some times playing the guitar, he gives an impression of conga sounds: as in the song “Solitude” for example. He continued to hone his skills as a guitarist and created melodies unlike any other. At the age of fourteen he became the leader of a Christian Band that lasted for seven years and recorded four albums. While at home one day he heard the soulful sounds of George Benson playing the guitar. After hearing George Benson, Bemol would never be the same. He then started spending a lot of time teaching himself Jazz and impressed people by playing body music with only his hands, feet and body. Bemol decided it was time for him to leave his home and come to the United States and put his lifelong dreams into motion. When he arrived, he brought Rabordaille (Roots) music, a Haitian street sound that had never been refined. He added other instruments like the guitar, and composed the drum beat. He has created his own style and calls it Rabordialle or Roots music. Another big influence on his musical style was Wes Montgomery. He has combined the styles of these Jazz greats as a guide to refine his own unique sounds.
Bemol admits that his music has a certain amount of sadness and melancholy woven into his complex melodies. In “Sadness Is My Best Friend”, he is a consummate perfectionist never quite satisfied, but always reaching for greater heights. In 1990, Bemol went to school, as a self-taught musician he sought to correct mistakes and learns techniques to improve his playing ability. He is now an accomplished musician, guitarist, bassist, conga player, composer, arranger and bandleader. Once crazy to be like Benson or Wes Montgomery, he came to realize that there could never be another Benson or Wes, finally he has found his own style.
