Frédéric Yonnet (born 30 April 1973) is a French musician, producer and recording artist who is best known for his use of the harmonica as a lead in jazz, R&B, funk, gospel and hip-hop influenced music. His ability to play chromatic scales on a diatonic harmonica gives him access to twice as many notes as the instrument is designed to deliver. Described by Rolling Stone as Prince's "killer harmonica player", Yonnet gained popularity for his on-stage performance with music icon Prince and his harmonica duels with the legendary Stevie Wonder. Yonnet has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists, including David Foster, Robbie Robertson,Erykah Badu, John Legend, India Arie, Angie Stone, Kindred The Family Soul, Justin Bieber, Randy Jackson, The Jonas Brothers and Grand Corps Malade. Career Early life Yonnet was born in Pont L'Eveque, Normandy, France. He is the younger of two sons born to French-Guyanese mother, Armande (Galas) Yonnet and Dominique Yonnet, a French civil engineer and part-time comedian and theater actor. His paternal grandfather, , was the noted French artist, writer and author of Paris Noir, a memoir about Paris during the Nazi Occupation. As a child, Yonnet and his father performed as a comedy duo in small theaters across France. By the age of 14, he started playing drums and after demonstrating considerable promise as a drummer, he was selected to perform at the Marciac Jazz Festival. Throughout his childhood, Yonnet suffered with asthma. By 19, he decided to revisit an instrument he had as a child, the harmonica. After dedicating time to mastering the instrument, he noticed a significant decrease in his asthma attacks. Today, he carries a harmonica instead of an inhaler and his past experiences as a drummer influences his rhythmic and percussive style of harmonica playing. Music career Yonnet's music career began as a drummer but was short-lived as he was frequently fired from bands for trying to play the lead. As a harmonica player he performed as a sideman and featured artist in numerous bands in France, including Blue Fever, all the while observing the style of great trumpet players, saxophonists, and bandleaders. He was a frequent guest on the French television network Canal Plus' Nulle Part Ailleurs, performing with Lol et le Groupe. In 1998, while performing at the Cannes Film Festival, Yonnet met several Americans who encouraged him to showcase his talent in the United States. In