Laurent Fourgo, born and raised in Paris, is a musician you may know as the leader of five well-loved bands that play throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Yes, five of them that run from music of the eighties, jazz, retro, and Flashback, his classics dance band for rock’n roll, Motown, Soul, Funk, Blues and Country. There is hardly any musical ground he does not walk.
He was 7 when he started began music at a good conservatory that stressed theory as well as playing. He chose the saxophone because it was an instrument he could borrow from the school and too many people had already chosen guitar. Eventually he switched to the oboe to rid himself of his terrible sax teacher. It was physics and mathematics that he headed for in college before settling on a business curriculum followed by service in the air-force. Music won.
It was singing he loved best, and with all the musical training he had, and as proficient as he was, he needed experience singing in front of an audience. Enter the karaoke bar competitions. He professional leap into performing started with jazz covering Frank Sinatra. The most recent band added to his growing cluster of them is a tribute to the music he grew up with, the music of the 80s, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, David Bowie, Culture Club. “Happy music,” he says, and you can hear the “happy” in his voice as he talks about them. And, you can hear the happy in his work in his Vintage Jukebox, the classic swing band playing at various venues and private events and celebrations. His team dresses, as he says, “funky and very crazy”. This group plays private parties, and more memory-lane musical fun you could hardly imagine. He will be happy to include you on his A-list.
His love letter? We’ll see. None as yet, but there are, of course, people in his life worth receiving them. And, yes, he does have some from his earlier days, days that have given way to modern communication.
No fol-de-rol with this man. Laurent’s candor, personal charm and authority without conceit that makes listening to him a real joy. He does not make more of anything than it is, and truth be told, it is all very impressive.