French pop crooner Dany Brillant has earned a large fan following in Europe for his lively, retro-flavored mix of swing, rockabilly, Latin, and French chanson influences. When a friend who played saxophone invited Brillant to sing with his jazz combo, the match proved fortuitous; Brillant quickly developed a passion for classic jazz and swing sounds, and the band landed a standing gig at a nightspot called Les Trois Maillets, where it played to enthusiastic crowds for five years. In 1996, Brillant released his first album, C'est Toi, which became the first in a series of European chart successes; he released eight hit albums between 1996 and 2007. ~ Mark Deming