You would assume that musician Andre Thibault hails from an exotic locale with a warm climate, due to his proficiency at such exotic instruments as the oud (a fretless lute from the Arabic world) and the flamenco guitar. But Thibault hails from Montreal, Canada. First starting out as a guitarist (and studying such challenging playing styles as classical, Spanish, and jazz), Thibault developed a fascination with world music, which led to his study of the oud; in addition to various other string, wind, and percussion instruments. Thibault has made a name for himself by performing in both North and South America with such esteemed guitarists as David Lindley, Tommy Emmanuel, Adrian Legg,Oscar Lopez, Strunz & Farah, Martin Carthy, Ellen MacElwaine, and drummer Trichy Sankaran. Thibault has issued recordings as both a solo artist (1996's Cookin' at Constanza's and 1999's Samar) and with others (including ASZA's self-titled debut and as part of the artist compilation Village Tales, among others). The late '90s saw Thibault also form a Latin-flamenco duo with percussionist Joseph "Pepe" Danza, called Corazon Latino; a Euro-Arabic ensemble called Cordes en Folie alongside vielle player Pierre Imbert; plus a duo with Egyptian percussionist, Adel Awad. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi