Biography
23 November 1960, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Raised in Chicago, Bourelly’s parents were first-generation Haitians - he learned about Yoruba music from his grandmother while absorbing the electrified blues of Muddy Waters; his brother Carl went on to become house keyboard player with Def Jam Records (the rap and heavy metal label). When Bourelly was 10 years old he sang Rossini at the Lyric Opera House in whiteface (‘to make us look like little Italian boys’). He had piano and drum lessons with Von Freeman but took up guitar in 1974 after hearing Jimi Hendrix. In 1979 he moved to New York, sharing an apartment with Steve Coleman. Chico Hamilton was the first band leader to hire him: gigs with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roy Haynes, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones quickly followed. The latter particularly impressed him with his understanding of the African polyrhythms at the heart of jazz. He was also welcomed by the new generation avant garde - trumpeter Olu Dara...
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