Biography Judex S. H. Bamboche
Judex S.H. Bamboche, born May 12, 1966 was a Jazz musician in Mauritius. Coming from a family of 3 boys, he grew up earlier in Rose-Hill with his grandfather; and sometimes at Trou d'eau Douce where his parents lived. He began playing the trumpet as a teenager in a Scouts Band. After studies, and a career as an accountant, he decided to make music his main professional activity by fully embarking on this field.
Mid 90s and early 2000, he was asked to create a group to accompany jazz clarinetist Jean-Paul Fontaine of Vitamine Jazz Band, a famous New Orleans Jazz group in Europe, who was to perform in Mauritius for a few concerts. Judex also met Jean-Marc Fontaine, son of the clarinetist. And together, they toured in the local and international hotel circuit. Judex then started to play the trombone and began to mark the spirits with his singular and unique sound. Being the administrator of the band, he lead with a spirit of passion while Jean-Marc returned to France after a while. In 2003, he created a new group, the Kreol Jazz Pioneers, composed of 6 musicians, including his wife Mylene Lecoq-Bamboche, singer and tenor banjo player. Basically, the group played New Orleans jazz. Judex trained musicians according to the philosophy behind this music and the specific techniques required to play it. The repertoire consisted of traditional pieces by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald among others. Wanting to bring something new to this music, Judex mixed the traditional second line with the local Mauritian rhythms while wanting to creolize it even more. He baptized this new genre "Kreol Jazz" by writing it with the "k" to clearly mark the influence of "Kreol Morisien" (Maurian creole language) on the dynamics of this jazz movement. During his career as a musician, Judex was part of the group Racine Nou Zanset, and played on several pieces of Mauritian sega. He also played sousaphone and led musicians at international Carnivals, where the Mauritian team was on the podium, leading several times. He also played with Toto Lebrasse, another musician and singer, very well known of the Mauritian and international scene. In 2016, Judex accompanied by Mylene, went to New Orleans where he met Gregory Stafford, famous trumpeter who took him to Preservation Hall. They als had a conservation with Dr Micheal White, famous clarinetist on the evolution of New Orleans jazz. It is acknowledged that Judex had started to modify New Orleans Jazz by incorporating "Kreol Jazz" in the way to play this particular music genre. Judex also played and jammed in a concert with the famous Treme Brass Band.
During his journey, Judex brought other structural and melodic changes to the Kreol Jazz Pioneers. The group continued to tour the local scene with lively beats. Diagosed with cancer, Judex Selwyn Hugues Bamboche passed away on October 10, 2019, leaving behind his wife Mylene and their two daughters, J-my and Mae-lee. He also left the Kreol Jazz, a concept of "Mauritianized" New Orleans genre.