Jérémy Rollando – Zef (Label Montgolfière / Sphère France, 2026)
French guitarist and composer Jérémy Rollando will release his second album, Zef, on January 9, 2026, via Label Montgolfière / Sphère France. A launch concert is scheduled for Thursday, February 5, 2026, at Café de la Danse in Paris. The first single, “Ben Armor,” arrived on October 24, 2025.
Rollando describes Zef as a step in both artistic maturity and professional development, extending his work with longtime collaborators Pascal Rollando, Jean-Luc Amestoy, and Emmanuel Forster, while opening to new musical horizons with a wider cast of guests.
Zef is a finely-crafted, alluring set that effortlessly amalgamates Spanish flamenco, French trad music, and other musical influences with jazz and western classical elements.
On Zef, Jérémy Rollando plays guitars. He composed, arranged and produced the album. His ensemble features Pascal Rollando on percussion, sound recording, production; Jean-Luc Amestoy on piano, accordion; and Emmanuel Forster on double bass.
Guests include Bernardo Sandoval (vocals); Gabriel Sandoval (lyrics on “La Victoria”); Serge López on guitars; Elsa López, Luce López, Victoria (vocals on “Tio Sergio”); Estelle Besingrand, Camille Antona, Édith Feytel (string trio on “Tabarly” and “Zef”); Guillaume López on flutes and vocals on “Désert Bleu” and “Tabarly”); Leo (vocals), Ludo (bouzouki), Mateito (oud), and Fred (vocals) from Cuarteto Tafi on “Tafi”; José Montealegre, Victoria, and the López family (vocals on “Premier Souffle”); Pablo Fagundes on harmonica on “Dernière Balade”; Friends’ choir on “L’Amandier”
Originally from the Toulouse region, Rollando is the son of percussionist Pascal Rollando. He grew up around artists such as Bernardo Sandoval, Serge López, Renaud Garcia Fons, and Kiko Ruiz, key figures in the French flamenco and world music scene. A self-taught guitarist, he later joined the professional program at Music’Halle in Toulouse in 2014, where he founded the group Terranga and released the album Couleurs Nomades in 2017.
His collaborations range from chanson and jazz to Latin and traditional music, including work with Agnès Jaoui, Francis Cabrel, Jean-Pierre Mader & Richard Seff, Naïma Chemoul, Sylvain Cazalbou Alsina, and Baboo Music (Aurélie Cabrel, Esthen Dehut). He also contributes as an arranger and guitarist to numerous recording projects.
Rollando received the Prix Nougaro – Région Occitanie in the Instrumental Music category in 2022 for his composition “Altitude.” His debut solo album, La Montgolfière, came out in March 2023. It brought together Amestoy, Rollando, and Forster in a trio setting that mixed jazz, flamenco, western classical, and Mediterranean influences.
Zef cover artwork by Jeremy Averbuj.
Author: Iliana Cabrera
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source worldmusiccentral.org ’
