Georges Alan Cavé (born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on February 27, 1966), is a Haitian-American lead singer of the

compas Compas, also known as compas direct or compas direk (; Haitian Creole: ''konpa'', ''kompa'' or ''kompa dirèk''), is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was popularized following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in ...

(''kompa'') band Zin.

Early years

Cavé's was born to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an parents, and spent most of his adolescent years in Haiti. His mother

Yanick Jean Yanick is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Yanick Dupré (1972–1997), Canadian professional ice hockey player *Yanick Lehoux (born 1982), Canadian hockey player *Yanick Paquette (born 1974), Canadian penciller in North America ...

was a writer, and his father is a poet, writer, and art director named Syto Cavé. Cavé often accompanied his famous father on his tours of the Caribbean (

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

), France, the United States and Canada. Surrounded by people who loved the arts, and born to writers, it was natural for Cavé to follow in their footsteps. During his adolescence, Alan frequently played guitar, belting out soulful and heartfelt words and melodies that, to many audiences, seemed beyond his age. Cavé's performance debut happened when an actor in a play fell ill and he was asked to sing the song ''"La Personne"''. The enthusiastic audience reception crystallized for Cavé the desire to have a musical career, and Alan Cavé became a household name in Haiti. In 1987, he met with Alex Abellard and Eddy Saint-Vil to audition, and Cavé was quickly signed for the group Zin. The group released their first album, "O Pa", in 1989. More than two decades later, Zin's guitarist-songwriter Eddy St. Vil, keyboardist and leader Alex Abellard, and its 11 band members remain popular, with sweet ballads and traditional Haitian

kompa Compas, also known as compas direct or compas direk (; Haitian Creole: ''konpa'', ''kompa'' or ''kompa dirèk''), is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was popularized following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses i ...

grooves. Cavé's voice, sometimes characterized as "seductive," considerably aided the success of the band.

Career

Cavé has become a prolific songwriter, with a catalogue of songs and unreleased recordings in English, French, and

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

. When once asked what inspires him, he answered simply: “Life and people”. He said he would prefer to be remembered as writer and composer, as it takes not just talent, but passion, aspiration, discipline and hard work to write songs and release an album. He is a sought-after performer in the French-Caribbean community. Cavé has collaborated with some known

artists and bands of the French Caribbean such as

Malavoi Malavoi was a Martinican band consisting of Mano Césaire, Jean-Paul Soïme, Christian de Negri, Denis Dantin, and Marcel Rémion. They formed in 1972, naming themselves after a kind of sugarcane and a street on Gorée, a Senegalese island. Ma ...

, Mario DeVolcy,

Tanya Saint-Val Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...

Haddy N'jie Haddy Jatou Njie (formerly N'jie; born 25 June 1979 in Oslo) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, writer and journalist. Her father is Gambian and her mother is Norwegian. She grew up in Kolbotn near Oslo and is the eldest of five siblings. Her yo ...

and

Roy Shirley Ainsworth Roy Rushton Shirley (18 July 1944 – July 2008), better known simply as Roy Shirley, and also known as King Roy Shirley and The High Priest, was a Jamaican singer whose career spanned the ska, rocksteady and reggae eras, and whose "H ...

. In 2001 he launched his first solo album, ''Se Pa Pou Dat'', which was an enormous success. This album seems to transcend barriers of language and cultural sound, with its melodies popular in Japan, Africa and South America, even though listeners may not understand the words. He continuous to have a solo career and has released five solo kompa albums.Nom : CAVE Prénom : Georges Alan
antillescompas.com

Discography

* ''Lagé'm'' (1993) * ''Best of'' (2000) * ''Se Pa Pou Dat'' (2001) * ''Collabo'' (2004) * ''De La Tête Aux Pieds'' (2007) * ''Timeless Volume 1'' (2014) * ''Timeless Volume 2'' (2014)

Singles

* ''Chokola'' 2003 * ''Jwenn'' 2007 * ''De la tete au Pied'' 2007 * ''Mon seul regret'' 2012 * ''Men kann Lan'' 2012 * ''Grave sou kê'm'' 2012 * ''Lil mama'' 2014 * ''Twerk that'' 2014 * ''Fanm sa'' 2014 * ''Se pa pou dat'' 2003

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20141026084244/http://haitilogo.com/georges-alan-cave-biography/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20141107232216/http://www.haitimega.com/Music_Dance-Alan_Cave_Biography/84514268557148160/article_87658398006902925.jsp

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Alan 1966 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American people of Haitian descent