Growing up and going to school in rough New York City neighborhoods like the Bronx, Harlem, and Yonkers, one would hardly imagine that a teenager would be concerned with rock music. Indeed, surviving a world populated by drugs, crime, and poverty becomes a number one priority. It was in this same environment that Yves Jean (pronounced Eve John) spent most of his
childhood. A son of immigrants from the impoverished Caribbean island of Haiti, Yves Jean spent most of his younger years trying to avoid the temptations of the inner city life. Attempting to escape this atmosphere, Jean began to see basketball as a way out.
It wasn't until age 17 that Jean picked up a bass in order to release some of his frustrations with the violent atmosphere of his neighborhoods. Little did
he know that it would be music, not sports, that would consume more of his adult ambitions.After graduating with a History Degree from the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown on a basketball scholarship, Yves decided to spend almost
all of his personal savings and graduation money on a five song
demo. Although the money for the demo was originally earmarked for a new
car, the recording sessions proved a better investment. The few
hours spent in a recording studio in Cleveland, Ohio became a lifestyle
that has lasted for nine years and counting. After recording the demo
and for the better part of those years, Yves endured numerous line-upchanges whileplaying in many Pittsburgh area venues. In 1999, Yves decided to enter the GraffitiRock Challenge as the Yves Jean Band, a competition sponsored by local Pittsburgh radio stations and newspapers. The contest featured over
250 bands, with the audience deciding the winner. Yves eventually won
the contest,creating controversy over whether he was really a
"rock" banddue to his unique sound and Haitian influenced style
of writing music. Regardless, Yves pushed ahead and entered the
studio torecord what would become his debut album Been Many
Days Empty.Recorded in Pittsburgh and released in 2000, the album
showcased the same mix of styles that won him the Rock Challenge the
previous winter. After the album's release, the Yves Jean band
quickly sold 4,000 plus copies, due in large part to the band’s
willingness to tour the Eastern U.S. to promote their sound and build a fan
base. He and his band played for the next five years wherever they were
asked, be it college campuses, clubs, bars, festivals, an opening
slot for a national act, or private functions.
For Yves and his band, near constant touring often led to lineup
rotations on an all to regular basis, due to the rigors of road life.
Yves decided in late 2003 that it was time to record the follow-up release to his 2000 debut record. In 2004, Yves produced and released Rise Above Your
Surroundings. This album showcased the Yves Jean Band's evolution from the first recordings in Cleveland, to a more direct and concise sound,
featuring straightforward rock without forgetting his foundations in other
Genres, such as world beat, hip-hop, and soul. Rise
Above Your Surroundings, combined with Yves’s commitment to
mixing musical genres, ensured that his loyal audience would continue to grow.
While supporting the new release for almost two years,
Yves and his band toured further and more consistently in the
national market of the U.S. and, more impressively, in the European market. Breaking into the European market proved that Yves's music could cross cultures and reach no limits selling in excess of 5,000 plus records independently.
In 2006, Yves took a hiatus from his music to concentrate on family
and finding the inspiration that was lacking during the second release.
Tragedy struck later that year when Yves’s mother passed away
from cancer, leaving a void in his life. He decided to use the tragedy
as a form of inspiration to record a new album. Yves decided to drop the band all together and opted to use his name, Yves Jean, for the new project.
The name change defined that that he was going solo and that his music was taking a new direction. Yves enlisted the help of Grammy Award winner and major abel producer and mixing engineer Ken Lewis, and also
recruited musicians that he admired. For first time
in his music career, Yves felt he could write and produce an album
from his heart, documenting his trials and tribulations. Once again in 2008, Yves had to make a few more sacrifices and changes in his music career.
Yves released For Love and Desperation, an album that
maintains to his ability cross genres of music while still staying grounded in his Haitian musical roots,making it commercially viable in today’s competitive
music market. The new release, For Love and
Desperation, has already garnered the attention of the music industry on both the national and international level, gaining radio airplay an impressive feat for such a unique artist.
