Gérard Jouannest (2 May 1933 – 16 May 2018) was a French pianist and composer.

Early life

Jouannest was born on 2 May 1933 in

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris ...

near Paris. His father was a piano manufacturer. Jouannest graduated from the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

in 1954. During the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, he served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, although he was based in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Career

Jouannest began his career as a pianist in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

s. He later worked as a pianist for

François Rauber François Rauber (19 January 1933 – 14 December 2003) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his works with chansonnier Jacques Brel. He served as the music director for the 1975 film '' Jacques Brel Is Alive and ...

. In 1959, he was introduced to

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

by music producer

Jacques Canetti Nessim Jacques Canetti (30 May 1909, Ruse, Bulgaria – 7 June 1997, Suresnes) was a French music executive and a talent agent. Born into a Sephardic Jewish family, his parents were Jacques Elias (Elieser) and Mathilde (Mazal) (née Arditti) Can ...

, and he worked for Brel for nearly a decade. It was Brel who introduced Jouannest to his future wife, singer

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

in 1968, and Jouannest played the piano for Greco during the rest of his career. Jouannest composed more than 250 songs over the course of his life. For example, he composed classic songs for Jacques Brel like ''

Ne Me Quitte Pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...

'', ''

Ces Gens-Là ''Ces gens-là'' ( en, Those people) is the ninth studio album by Jacques Brel. Also known as ''Jef'', it was released in 1966 by Barclay (80323). The album was reissued on 23 September 2003 under the title ''Ces Gens-Là'' as part of the 16-CD ...

'', ''Bruxelles'', '' Mathilde'' and ''

Les Vieux Les Vieux (''The Old Folks'') is a 1963 song written and performed by Jacques Brel. It appeared on the album '' Les Bonbons'' and was co-composed with Brel's frequent collaborative musicians Gérard Jouannest and Jean Corti. Lyrics The song is a ...

''. He also composed songs for younger artists like

Miossec Christophe Miossec is a French singer and songwriter born in Brest, Brittany, France on December 24, 1964. Beginnings Christophe Miossec was not new to the world of music when he met his first great success. Between 14 and 17, he was in a teen ...

Benjamin Biolay Benjamin Biolay (; born 20 January 1973) is a French singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément—whose first three albums he wrote and produced—and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroiann ...

and Abd al Malik.

Personal life and death

In 1988, Jouannest married

. Jouannest supported Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the 2012 presidential election. Jouannest died on 16 May 2018 in Ramatuelle, in the South of France. He was 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jouannest, Gerard 1933 births 2018 deaths People from Hauts-de-Seine Conservatoire de Paris alumni French military personnel of the Algerian War French composers 20th-century French male pianists Jacques Brel