About

Florian Bertschy was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1975 and has always been interested in music. However, it was not until he was 19 when he attended a concert given by the Chicago singer, Big Time Sarah, accompanied by Little JC and his blues band, that he really found his vocation. Florian immediately took off for America with the guitarist Sebastien “Little Blues Boy” Gandubert and spent a month in the States immersing himself in the songs, atmosphere and energy of the blues clubs that give life to Chicago, San Francisco and even Los Angeles. Upon his return to Switzerland, on the advice of the guitarist, Sacha Ruffieux, he took up the bass. Together with Little Blues Boy, he formed the group “Born to Blues”, which gave its first concert in Nouveau Monde (Fribourg) less than six months later. Little Blues Boy (guitar) and Florian (bass) were joined by Bonny B. (vocals/harmonica), Pierre “Big Pitch” Frossard (guitar) and Sid Cornel (drums). More concerts followed but no concert was ever the same. The band’s line-up often changed but the band played on. In 1999, the band’s line-up became established and they stepped up a gear with the addition of the young and promising Michel “Ice-B” Chanmongkhon, Bonny B.’s younger brother, replacing Big Pitch on guitar, and the Londoner Chris Chescoe on drums. The group now became known as Blues Connection. When Little Blues Boy and Florian left to go abroad in the middle of 2001, the band split up. Bonny B. then hooked up with some excellent professional musicians, with whom he recorded two albums under the name Bonny B., and toured with his Bonny B. Blues Band. 18 months later, Florian returned to Switzerland and now plays in about half the concerts played by Bonny B. Blues Band with Bonny B. (vocals/harmonica), Ice- B, (guitar), Markus Baumer (piano) and Salvatore Lombardo (drums). Their set includes original songs as well as classic blues, soul and funk numbers.

Since March 1999, Florian plays from time to time with Little JC and his blues band. Little JC sticks to the traditional blues of the 1950s and the set is heavily influenced by Jimmy Rodgers, Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker to name but a few.

Some highlights: the concert of 5 March 1999 at Underworld in Bulle, Switzerland, the first concert with Little JC and his blues band; the New Year’s Eve concert 2000 at Babe and Ricky’s Inn in Los Angeles, USA, performing alongside the great singer Miss Mickey Champion, the veteran saxophonist Bill Clark and his Might Balls of Fire, and a jam session covering the entire blues anthology when the Bonny B. Blues Band was joined on stage by the American drummer Vic Pitts at the beautiful Hamond Bar, Belfaux, Switzerland on 7 March 2003.