Mino Cinelu

Mino Cinelu
Cinelu performing with Miles Davis, Palais des congrès de Paris, 1983
Background information
Origin	Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine France
Genres	Jazz, blues, Afro-pop, jazz fusion, rock and roll
Occupation(s)	Musician Composer Producer
Instruments	Drums, percussion, flute
Labels	Blue Thumb
Associated acts	Miles Davis, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius
Website	Mino Cinelu.com

Mino Cinélu (born 1957) is a French musician. He plays multiple instruments. He is a composer, programmer and producer; and is most often associated primarily for his work as a jazz percussionist.

Cinelu was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine. His father is from Martinique and his mother is French. He was involved with music from childhood (his father and two brothers were musicians) and started spending time and playing in various concert halls (such as the Chapelle des Lombards) in the suburbs of Paris. He became interested in various styles of music such as jazz, rock, salsa and even in more esoteric varieties like Egyptian chants and Romani music. He would later expand his repertoire to include fado, flamenco, African music, Japanese music, and Slavic music.

The first instrument that Cinelu took to was the bongo drums, which led him to decide to try and live from his music. He often played the bongos in the streets where he first experimented with improvisation. At the end of the 1970s he became more and more interested in the French jazz fusion scene where he made many connections with other musicians and members of the music industry. At varying times he worked with Jef Gilson, Chute Libre, and Moravagine. Shortly thereafter he began playing with artists such as Bernard Lavilliers, Colette Magny, Gong, and Toto Bissainthe.