Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
,
ambient and
new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor
spectacle
In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French ''spectacle'', itself a reflection of the ...
s featuring his music, accompanied by vast
laser displays, large
projections and
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...
.
Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and grandparents and trained on the piano. From an early age, he was introduced to a variety of art forms, including street performers,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
musicians and the artist
Pierre Soulages
Pierre Jean Louis Germain Soulages (; 24 December 1919 – 26 October 2022) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. In 2014, President François Hollande of France described him as "the world's greatest living artist." His works are hel ...
. But his musical style was perhaps most heavily influenced by
Pierre Schaeffer
Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His inno ...
, a pioneer of
musique concrète at the
Groupe de Recherches Musicales
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.
Air and aviation groups
The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...
.
His first mainstream success was the 1976 album ''
Oxygène
''Oxygène'' (, en, Oxygen) is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976 by Disques Motors, and distributed internationally in 1977 by Polydor Records. J ...
''. Recorded in a makeshift studio at his home, the album sold an estimated 18 million copies. ''Oxygène'' was followed in 1978 by ''
Équinoxe
''Équinoxe'' (, en, Equinox) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for its worldwide distribution. The albu ...
'', and in 1979, Jarre performed to a record-breaking audience of more than a million people at the
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
...
, a record he has since broken three times. More albums were to follow, but his 1979 concert served as a blueprint for his future performances around the world. Several of his albums have been released to coincide with large-scale outdoor events.
As of 2004, Jarre had sold an estimated 80 million albums and singles. He was the first
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
musician officially invited to perform in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and holds the
world record for the largest-ever audience at an outdoor event for his
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
concert on 6 September 1997, which was attended by 3.5 million people.
Biography
Early life, influences, and education
Jean-Michel Jarre was born in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
on 24 August 1948, to Francette Pejot, a
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
member and
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
survivor, and composer
Maurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...
.
His grandmother was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. When Jarre was five, his parents separated and his father moved to the United States, leaving him with his mother.
He did not see his father again until reaching the age of 18.
For the first eight years of his life, Jarre spent six months each year at his maternal grandparents' flat on the Cours de Verdun, in the Perrache district of Lyon. Jarre's grandfather was an
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
player, engineer and inventor, designing an early audio mixer used at Radio Lyon. He also gave Jean-Michel his first tape recorder. From his vantage point high above the pavement, the young Jarre was able to observe
street performers at work, an experience he later cited as proving influential on his art.
Jarre struggled with classical piano studies, although he later changed teachers and worked on his scales.
A more general interest in musical instruments was sparked by his discovery at the
Saint-Ouen flea market, where his mother sold antiques, of a
Boris Vian
Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...
trumpet violin. He often accompanied his mother to Le Chat Qui Pêche (The Fishing Cat), a Paris
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
club run by one of her friends from her resistance years, where saxophonists
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
Biography Early life
Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...
and
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
, and trumpet players
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
and
Chet Baker were regular performers. These early jazz experiences suggested to him that music may be "descriptive, without lyrics".
He was also influenced by the work of French artist
Pierre Soulages
Pierre Jean Louis Germain Soulages (; 24 December 1919 – 26 October 2022) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. In 2014, President François Hollande of France described him as "the world's greatest living artist." His works are hel ...
, whose exhibition at the
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris he attended. Soulages' paintings used multiple textured layers, and Jarre realised that "for the first time in music, you could act as a painter with frequencies and sounds."
He was also influenced by classical, modernist music; in a 2004 interview for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', he spoke of the effect that a performance of
Stravinsky's ''
The Rite of Spring
, image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg
, image_size = 350px
, caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of '
, composer = Igor Stravinsky
, based_on ...
'' had upon him:
As a young man Jarre earned money by selling his paintings, exhibiting some of his works at the Lyon Gallery – ''L'Œil écoute'', and by playing in a band called Mystère IV. While he studied at the
Lycée Michelet, his mother arranged for him to take lessons in
harmony,
counterpoint and
fugue with Jeannine Rueff of 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 1967 he played guitar in a band called ''The Dustbins'', who appear in the film '. He mixed instruments including the electric guitar and the flute with tape effects and other sounds.
More experimentation was followed in 1968, when he began to use
tape loop
In music, tape loops are loops of magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder. Originating in the 1940s with the work of Pierre Schaeffer, they were used among cont ...
s, radios and other electronic devices, in 1969 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM),
founded and led by
Pierre Schaeffer
Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His inno ...
, inventor of
musique concrete
Musique is the French word for music.
Musique may also refer to:
Music
*Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams
*Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...
.
Jarre was introduced to the
Moog modular synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
and spent time working at the studio of influential German composer
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...
in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
.
In the kitchen of his apartment in Rue de la Trémoille, Jarre set up a small makeshift recording studio.
It included his first synthesiser, an
EMS VCS 3
The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for ''Voltage Controlled Studio, version #3'') is a portable analog synthesizer with a flexible modular voice architecture introduced by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969.
EMS release ...
,
and an
EMS Synthi AKS
The EMS Synthi A and the EMS Synthi AKS, is a portable modular analog synthesiser made by EMS of England. The Synthi A model debuted in May 1971, and then Sythni AKS model appeared in March 1972 a with a built-in keyboard and sequencer. The EMS ...
, each linked to
Revox
ReVox (on-logo styling REVOX) is a brand name, registered by Studer on 27 March 1951 for Swiss audio equipment.
History
The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox recorders, a new ...
tape machines. For a 1969 exposition at the Maison de la Culture (Cultural House) in
Reims, Jarre wrote the five-minute song "Happiness Is a Sad Song". That same year he composed and recorded "La Cage/Erosmachine", a mixture of harmony, tape effects and synthesisers,
which was released in 1971.
1970s
In 1971 Jarre was commissioned by choreographer Norbert Schmucki to perform a ballet called ''AOR'' (in Hebrew, "the light"), at the
Palais Garnier. He also composed background music for ballet, theatre, television programs,
department stores, and advertising jingles for
Pepsi-Cola
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
,
Nestle and
RTL. The music for airports, and North America libraries was composed with the VCS 3 and an
Farfisa
Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professio ...
professional organ. From 1972 to 1975, Jean-Michel wrote music and lyrics for artists like
Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career o ...
,
Gérard Lenorman
Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) is a French singer-songwriter.
Lenorman was born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados (Normandy) when it was a maternity hospital. He is the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. ...
,
Christophe and
Patrick Juvet
Patrick Juvet (21 August 1950 – ca. 1 April 2021) was a Swiss model and singer-songwriter, who had a string of hit records in Europe. While his early career was focused on making pop records, he found international success as a disco music p ...
. In 1972 collaborated in
Olympia show, and wrote music for the International Festival of Magic. That year he also released his first solo album, ''Deserted Palace'',
and composed the soundtrack for ''Les Granges Brûlées'' (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''
The Burned Barns
''The Burned Barns'' (french: Les Granges brûlées) is a 1973 French drama film directed by Jean Chapot. The fim score was composed by Jean Michel Jarre and released as album in 1973. In 2003, the soundtrack album was reissued on CD by Disques Dr ...
'').
Jarre's 1976 low-budget solo album ''
Oxygène
''Oxygène'' (, en, Oxygen) is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976 by Disques Motors, and distributed internationally in 1977 by Polydor Records. J ...
'', recorded at his home studio, made him famous internationally.
The music was made with analog synthesizers like the
EMS VCS 3
The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for ''Voltage Controlled Studio, version #3'') is a portable analog synthesizer with a flexible modular voice architecture introduced by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969.
EMS release ...
and the
EMS Synthi AKS
The EMS Synthi A and the EMS Synthi AKS, is a portable modular analog synthesiser made by EMS of England. The Synthi A model debuted in May 1971, and then Sythni AKS model appeared in March 1972 a with a built-in keyboard and sequencer. The EMS ...
, and recorded with a
Scully 8-track recorder.
Jarre initially was turned down by several record companies, until Jean-Michel decided to meet with Francis Dreyfus, the head of the Disques Motors label, to see if he could release the album, to which he accepted. The first pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted through hi-fi shops, clubs and discos,
and by April 1977 had sold 70,000 copies in France. When interviewed in ''
Billboard'' magazine, Motors's director Stanislas Witold said, "In a sense we're putting most of our bets on Jean-Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional and we're sure that by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide."
Jarre's follow-up album, ''
Équinoxe
''Équinoxe'' (, en, Equinox) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for its worldwide distribution. The albu ...
'', was released in 1978, though its sales were still healthy, it had less of an impact than ''Oxygène'', but the following year Jarre held a large open-air concert on
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
, at the
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
...
.
The free outdoor event set a world record for the largest number of spectators ever at an open-air concert, drawing more than 1 million spectators.
Although it was not the first time he had performed in concert (Jarre had already played at the
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...
), the 40 minute-long event, which used projections of light, images and fireworks, served as a blueprint for Jarre's future concerts.
Its popularity helped create a surge in sales—a further 800,000 records were sold between 14 July and 31 August 1979—and the Frenchman
Francis Rimbert
Francis Rimbert (born 3 October 1952 in Val d'Oise, France) is a French musician and composer.
Biography
Francis Rimbert started playing classical piano when he was 5 years old. At the conservatory, he studied harmony, counterpoint, the fug ...
featured at the event.
1980s
By the time ''
Les Chants Magnétiques
''Les Chants Magnétiques'' (English title: ''Magnetic Fields'') is the fifth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus on 20 May 1981. The album reached number six in the United Kingd ...
'' was released on 20 May 1981, ''Oxygène'' and ''Équinoxe'' had achieved global sales of about 6 million units. In its first two months the then new album sold a reported 200,000 units in France alone.
The album uses sounds from the
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
, a new instrument of which Jarre was a pioneer. Its digital technology allowed him to continue his earlier sonic experimentation in new ways.
In that same year, the British Embassy gave Radio Beijing copies of his ''Oxygène'' and ''Équinoxe'', which became the first pieces of foreign music to be played on Chinese national radio in decades. The Republic invited Jarre to become the first western musician to play in post-
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
China. The performances were scheduled to run from 18 October to 5 November 1981.
However, only 5 concerts were given in total, two in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and three in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
.
The first, in Beijing, was initially attended mostly by officials, but before the concert began technicians realised that not enough power was available to supply the stage and auditorium. Chinese officials solved the problem by temporarily cutting power to the surrounding districts.
The stadium was almost full when the concert began, but as Beijing's buses stopped running at about 10 o'clock, about half the audience left before it finished. To boost the audience attendance for the second night, Jarre and his production team purchased some of the concert tickets and gave them to children on the streets (Jarre originally wanted the concerts to be free, but the Chinese authorities decided to charge between £0.20 and £0.50 per ticket).
Recordings of the concerts, which featured one of Jarre's signature electronic instruments, the
laser harp
A laser harp is an electronic musical user interface and laser lighting display. It projects several laser beams played by the musician by blocking them to produce sounds, visually reminiscent of a harp. It was popularised by Jean-Michel Jarre, ...
, were released as a double-disc
LP in 1982.
Between February and May of 1983, Jarre recorded a single LP copy of an album entitled ''
Musique pour Supermarché
''Musique pour Supermarché'' (English title: ''Music for Supermarkets'') is the sixth studio album by electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Only a single vinyl copy was ever pressed and distributed, and its master plates were delib ...
'' (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''Music for Supermarkets'') whose objective was to be the soundtrack of a show called Orrimbe, to later be auctioned with the master tapes and plates destroyed. The album was later broadcast exclusively on
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
with Jarre encouraging listeners to record the broadcast.
In 1984, he released seventh studio album ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded and edited ...
'', in this album was expanded the sample-based approach which had been initiated on ''
Les Chants Magnétiques
''Les Chants Magnétiques'' (English title: ''Magnetic Fields'') is the fifth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus on 20 May 1981. The album reached number six in the United Kingd ...
'' and continued on ''
Music for Supermarkets
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
'', the album was based around multiple fragments of human voices pronouncing words and speeches in different languages from all over the world, recorded digitally by Jarre and then played back and edited on the
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
.
In 1985, Jarre was invited by the musical director of the
Houston Grand Opera to perform a concert celebrating
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
's 150th anniversary on 5 April 1986. Although he was busy with other projects and was at first unimpressed by the proposal, on a later visit to the city, he was immediately impressed by the visual grandeur of the city's
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skyline ...
and agreed to perform. Also, 1985 marked the 25th
anniversary of the foundation of the
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center; and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
asked Jarre to integrate the anniversary into the concert.
Jarre worked with several Houston-based
astronauts, including
Bruce McCandless II and
Ronald McNair
Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission spec ...
, an accomplished musician who was to have played the
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
on "Rendez-Vous VI", recorded in the weightless environment of space. The live performance was curtailed by McNair's death in the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It wa ...
on 28 January 1986. Consideration was given to the cancellation of the concert; but McCandless contacted Jarre and urged him to proceed, in memory of the shuttle's crew. McNair's saxophone piece was recorded by French saxophonist Pierre Gossez and retitled "Ron's Piece". At Jarre's giant concerts in Houston and Lyon, the part was performed by McNair's friend, American saxophonist
Kirk Whalum
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
:
About 2,000 projectors shone images onto buildings and giant screens up to high, transforming the city's skyscrapers into spectacular backdrops for an elaborate display of fireworks and lasers.
Rendez-vous Houston entered the ''
Guinness Book of Records'' for its audience of over 1.5 million, beating his earlier record, set in 1979. The display was so impressive that a nearby freeway was blocked by passing vehicles, forcing the authorities to close it for the duration of the concert.
Several months later he performed to an audience of about a million at his home city of
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
in celebration of a visit by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. Watching from
Lyon Cathedral
Lyon Cathedral (french: link=no, Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon) is a Roman Catholic Church architecture, church located on Place Saint-Jean in central Lyon, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and is the seat of ...
, the Pope began the concert with a good-night blessing, a recording of which appears on ''Cities in Concert – Houston/Lyon''.
In 1988, Jarre released his ninth studio album ''
Revolutions
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
'', and in same year, a concert called
Destination Docklands
Destination Docklands was an event consisting of two concerts by musician Jean-Michel Jarre on the Royal Victoria Docks, Docklands, London on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9 October 1988, to coincide with the release of Jarre's new album ''Revolution ...
was planned for September, to be held at the
Royal Victoria Dock in east London.
Close to the heart of London, the location was chosen in part for its desolate environment, but also because Jarre thought the architecture was ideally suited for his music. Early in 1988 Jarre met with local officials and members of the community,
but
Newham Borough Council delayed their decision until 12 September the month in which the show was due to take place.
The local fire service were also concerned about access in the event of a fire. Site work continued as Jarre's team searched for alternative locations in which to stage the concert, but following improvements to both on and off-site safety Jarre eventually won conditional approval on 28 September to stage two separate performances, on 8 and 9 October.
The floating stage on which Jarre and his musicians performed was built on top of four large
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s. Large purpose-built display screens were built, and one of the buildings to be used as a backdrop was painted white. One large mirror ball being transported to the event fell onto the roadside, causing a degree of confusion as some people mistook it for a fallen
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
searchlights were installed, to illuminate the sky and surrounding architecture.
Along with thousands in the surrounding streets and parks, 200,000 people watched Jarre and guests such as guitarist
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...
perform in less than ideal conditions. Inclement weather had threatened to break the stage from its moorings, putting paid to the original plan to float the stage across the Royal Victoria Dock. Wind speeds were so high that television cameras were blown over. On the second evening the audience, which included
Diana, Princess of Wales,
was soaked by rain and wind.
1990s
In 1990, Jarre released ''
En Attendant Cousteau
''En attendant Cousteau'' (English title: ''Waiting for Cousteau'') is the tenth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus, licensed to Polydor. The album was dedicated to Jacques-Yve ...
'' (''Waiting for Cousteau''), a tribute to the French oceanographer
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA ( self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...
.
On
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
he performed a concert at
La Défense in Paris, attended by a
record-breaking audience of about two million people, again beating his earlier world record.
He later promoted a concert near the Pyramids of
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...
in Mexico, to be held during the
solar eclipse of 11 July 1991. However, with only weeks to go, important equipment had not arrived and the sinking in the Atlantic Ocean of a cargo ship containing the purpose-built pyramidal stage and other technical and financial problems made staging the concert impossible. Jarre's disappointment was such that he "could not cope with Mexican food for two years".
About two years later he released ''
Chronologie'', an album that features Jarre's traditional collection of instruments like the
ARP 2600
The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive audio synthesizer produced by ARP Instruments, Inc.
History
Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Allen R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 ...
and
Minimoog, as well as newer synthesisers such as the
Roland JD-800
The Roland JD-800 is a digital synthesizer that was manufactured between 1991 and 1996. It features many knobs and sliders for patch editing and performance control — features that some manufacturers, including Roland, had been omitting in the ...
and the
Kurzweil K2000
The Kurzweil K2000 is a digital synthesizer and music workstation produced by Kurzweil Music Systems between 1991 and 2000 in a variety of standard configurations, including rack-mountable versions and models that came with 16-bit user sampling.
...
.
Jarre was invited to the inaugural celebrations of the Palace of the Lost City, a hotel located within the Sun City in South Africa. Three concerts were held on 1, 2 and 3 December 1992, in which more than 45,000 people attended.
''Chronologie'' was performed at a series of 16 performances across Europe called ''Europe in Concert''. These were on a smaller scale than his previous concerts, featuring a miniature skyline, laser imaging and fireworks. Locations included Lausanne, Mont St Michel, London,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Barcelona, Seville and the Versailles Palace near Paris. A concert was also held in Hong Kong in March 1994, to mark the opening of the city's new stadium. Jarre performed many of his most well-known hits at the ''Concert for Tolerance'' on Bastille Day in 1995, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. The
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "' ...
was specially lit for the occasion, prompting the installation of a
more permanent display. The following December, he created the website "A Space for Tolerance", which featured music from ''En Attendant Cousteau'', played while the user browsed a variety of "visual worlds".
In 1997, Jarre returned to the analogue synthesisers of the 1970s with ''
Oxygène 7–13'',
dedicated to his mentor at the
GRM,
Pierre Schaeffer
Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist, acoustician and founder of Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète (GRMC). His inno ...
, who had died two years before. In September that year he set his fourth record for the largest-ever outdoor-concert audience with a performance at the
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, celebrating the 850th anniversary of Moscow. The event was viewed by an audience of about 3.5 million.
[''Guinness Book of Records'', edition 1998] Another large-scale concert followed on 31 December 1999, in the Egyptian desert near
Giza.
The Twelve Dreams of the Sun
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...
celebrated the new millennium and offered a preview of his next album, ''
Métamorphoses'' (released the following year). The show featured performances from more than 1,000 local artists and musicians, and was based on ancient Egyptian mythology about the journey of the sun and its effect upon humanity.
2000s
In 2001, he released ''Interior Music'', an album of 1,000 copies created for use by the Danish audio-visual company
Bang & Olufsen stores. The album consists of two long-form pieces: "Bonjour Hello", is a 25 minute audio
collage of sounds with voices saying short sentences in French, English and Danish. The second piece, "Whispers of Life", is an instrumental version of the first, with the voices removed.
The same year he composed, with Francis Rimbert arrangements, the music for the short-lived French channel Match TV.} On 7 September 2002, Jarre held a very wet and muddy concert at the near the city of Aalborg in Denmark, with 40,000 spectators (including 5,000 VIPs). Danish band
Safri Duo
Safri Duo is a Danish electronic percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born 5 April 1966) and Morten Friis (born 21 August 1968). Initially classically oriented, they later made a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica. Released ...
featured on the track "Aero", which in fact was Bourges 2 from the performance earlier that year, and Rendez-Vous 4. The concert was broadcast live on various TV stations around the world and a shortened one-hour version was made available for rebroadcast.
By no fault of Jarre, due to 22 millimeters of rain and lack of proper preparation for and execution of the event, it took several hours for all people to be able to leave the area, and many cars were stuck until the next day. The problems subsequently became a big issue in Danish media, since, had there been an accident, it would be extremely difficult for help to get to the location. Two years previously, nine people were killed at
Roskilde Festival, which had brought focus on security at large concerts. Preparations for AERO were later proven to have been lacking, and the police investigation concluded, in part, that permission for the concert should not have been granted.
[Web mirror of police report: ] Reactions from spectators were mixed, some claiming it was unsafe, and others saying it was a case of overreacting.
A concert in September of that same year at a
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
near
Aalborg in Denmark proved problematic when 22 mm of rain fell on the venue, causing long delays for spectators.
It also marked a change in direction in Jarre's live concerts; from
Rendez-vous Houston onwards he had been accompanied by a full complement of live musicians, but at Aalborg he was accompanied only by Francis Rimbert, and having guests like the Klarup Girls Choir,
Safri Duo
Safri Duo is a Danish electronic percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born 5 April 1966) and Morten Friis (born 21 August 1968). Initially classically oriented, they later made a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica. Released ...
and the Aalborg Symphonic Orchestra.
In 2003 he released ''Geometry of Love'' on Warner Music label, it was commissioned by
Jean-Roch as soundtrack for his 'V.I.P. Room' nightclub in France. The physical
CD was a long time out of print, but in 2018 remastered reissue was released on CD again. The album cover is a pixelated and turned counter-clockwise photo of Jarre's girlfriend at the time,
Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmina Adjani ; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She is the only performer in history to win five César Awards for acting; she won the Best Actress award for '' Possession'' (1981), '' ...
.
In October 2004 he returned to China to open its "Year of France" cultural exchange. Jarre gave two performances, the first at the
Meridian Gate of the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...
, and the second in
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...
. More than 15,000 spectators watched the concert at the Meridian Gate, and each concert was transmitted nationwide on live television. Jarre collaborated with musician Chen Lin. Accompanying his traditional musical repertoire, 600 projectors shone coloured light and images across various screens and objects.
In September 2004, Jarre released both a DVD and a CD in one package ''
AERO
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane).
Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to:
Aeronautics Airlines and companies
* Aero ...
''. A compilation album made in 5.1
surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...
, it contains re-recorded versions of some of his most famous tracks, including tracks from ''Oxygène'' and ''Équinoxe''. Accompanying the audio, the DVD features a visual image of
Anne Parillaud's eyes, recorded in real time as she listened to the album.
Jarre used the minimalist imagery to reinforce the audio content of the DVD.
In his role of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Jarre performed a concert named
Water for Life "Water for Life" was a concert given by French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre on the night of December 16, 2006 amidst the dunes of the Sahara desert at Merzouga, Morocco. The concert was held under the auspice of UNESCO as 2006 had been desi ...
in Morocco, on 16 December 2006, to celebrate the United Nations Year of Desertification in the world. The performance was in front of the Erg Chebbi Dunes of
Merzouga
Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco, about southeast of Rissani, about from Erfoud and about from the Algerian border.
The village is known for its proximity to Erg Chebbi and is a popular destination for tourists. It has been ...
, in the
Sahara. A free event, it was attended by about 25,000 people. Images of water and the environment were projected onto nine vertical screens, held in place by sand which was watered to keep it hard. Several permanent drinking fountains were built on the site, along with a permanent electricity installation. Jarre was accompanied by over 60 Moroccan artists. Jarre released ''
Téo & Téa'' in 2007, a studio album that described the different stages of a loving relationship.
In that same year released on
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
label a new recording of his 1976 album named ''
Oxygène: New Master Recording''. Jarre performed 10 concerts (''Oxygène Live'') in December 2007, held in the
Théâtre Marigny
The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement.
It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panora ...
, located in the
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...
, Paris. Later in 2008 Jarre performed several concerts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ''Oxygène'', in theaters in Europe. Following one such performance at the
Royal Albert Hall Jarre met
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
guitarrist
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...
, who proposed he create a concert in
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
for the
International Year of Astronomy
The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the pu ...
, but a lack of sponsorship meant that the concert did not take place. In 2009 he was selected as the artistic director of the World Sky Race, and also accepted a role as Goodwill Ambassador for the International Year of Astronomy. In 2009 he started an indoor tour in arenas throughout Europe.
2010s
On 1 March 2010, Jean-Michel Jarre started the second leg of his 2009–10 Indoors tour; on 10 June, he was presented with a
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions.
Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include:
A
* A.C. ...
by
''Mojo'' magazine. On 1 July 2011, Jarre performed a large-scale concert in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
to celebrate the marriage of
Prince Albert and his bride
Charlene. A later concert was held at
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
during the city's 12 August 2013 musical festival.
In June 2013, Jarre was elected as president of the ''
Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d´Auteurs et Compositeurs'' (CISAC). In Spring 2015, Jarre released the first music from a new studio album, released in October 2015, following around four years of work. The album, ''
Electronica 1: The Time Machine'' (working title: ''E-Project''), comprises a number of collaborations with other artists. The first of these to be released was the collaboration with
Gesaffelstein
Mike Lévy (; born 24 June 1987), known professionally as Gesaffelstein (), is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and record producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as The Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Elect ...
entitled ''Conquistador'', followed by ''Glory'', with
M83. The track was also featured as part of the soundtrack of a short film entitled EMIC.
Other collaborations on the album include ''Zero Gravity'' tracks with;
Armin van Buuren for "
Stardust",
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
for ''"A Question of Blood"'',
Little Boots
Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), better known by her stage name Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist she has releas ...
for ''If..!'' and
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
for ''Travelator, Pt. 2''. The album became Jarre's first album in over 25 years to make the UK Top 10 at No. 8. In December 2016, the album was nominated for the Grammys 2017 Awards in the "Best Dance/Electronic Album" category. In June 2015, in collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre, the transmedia project ''
Soundhunters
''Soundhunters'' is a transmedia musical project created by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (aka the Blies brothers), Marion Guth and François Le Gall, broadcast on the Franco-German channel Arte in 2015 and deployed internationally w ...
'' was released on the platform of the Franco-German channel
ARTE
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...
. The transmedia conceptualized by the Blies brothers (Stéphane Hueber-Blies and Nicolas Blies), François Le Gall and Marion Guth of the Luxembourg production company a_BAHN, is openly inspired by the album ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded and edited ...
'' to which it pays tribute.
On 5 October 2016,
Democracy in Europe Movement 2025
The Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, or DiEM25, is a pan-European political movement founded in 2016 by a group of Europeans, including former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat. The movement was of ...
announced that Jarre would be a member of its advisory panel. The transmedia is composed of a web documentary using ''Zoolook''s creative process involving 4 international artists (
Simonne Jones, Mikael Seifu,
Daedelus and
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...
); a 52' documentary film directed by
Beryl Koltz broadcast in September 2015 on ARTE (with the participation of Chassol,
Matthew Herbert,
Blixa Bargeld, Jean-Michel Jarre,
Matmos
Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...
, Kiz,
Joseph Bertolozzi
Joseph Bertolozzi (born 1959) is an American composer and musician with works ranging from full symphony orchestra and solo songs to immense sound-art installations. With increasingly numerous performances across Europe and the United States to ...
); and finally a participatory tribute music album whose tracks were chosen by Jean-Michel Jarre, entitled ''Zoolook Revisited''. ''
Soundhunters
''Soundhunters'' is a transmedia musical project created by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (aka the Blies brothers), Marion Guth and François Le Gall, broadcast on the Franco-German channel Arte in 2015 and deployed internationally w ...
'' won the Fipa d'Or 2015 in Biarritz. ''
Soundhunters
''Soundhunters'' is a transmedia musical project created by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (aka the Blies brothers), Marion Guth and François Le Gall, broadcast on the Franco-German channel Arte in 2015 and deployed internationally w ...
'' was also presented in conference at
SXSW and Convergence
NYFF 2016.
In 2016, ''
Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise'' was released with 15 more collaborators, including
Pet Shop Boys,
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...
,
Yello
Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983.
Their sound is often charac ...
and
Gary Numan. One track (8 "Exit") includes speech by
Edward Snowden. Electronica 2 has been nominated in the ''Album de musiques électroniques ou dance'' category for the Grammy 2017 in USA & Victoires de la Musique 2017 awards in France. On 11 April 2016, it was revealed that Jarre worked in collaboration with British virtual band
Gorillaz on their fifth studio album ''
Humanz
''Humanz'' is the fifth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 28 April 2017 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Warner Bros. Records. The album was announced on the band's official Instagr ...
''. He also composed during 2016 the soundtrack for the French news network
France Info
France Info (stylised as franceinfo:) is a French Public broadcasting, public broadcasting service produced in collaboration with France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel.
The serv ...
. This soundtrack was released as ''
Radiophonie Vol. 9'' on 13 January 2017.
In 2017, he performed a concert near the fortress of
Masada
Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the D ...
, for the purpose of saving the
Dead Sea and to highlight "the anti-environmental policies of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
." He also performed a special concert for the opening of the ''Año Jubilar'' (Jubilee year) at the Monasterio de
Santo Toribio de Liébana, in Spain. Both concerts were heavily based in the Electronica Tour concept. During May 2017, Jarre toured in Canada and USA for the first time in his career, and in July 2017 another leg of the tour was held in Europe.
In March 2018, Jarre performed in South America for the first time as part of his Electronica Tour in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and
Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
. These concerts were originally scheduled for November 2017, but problems with the production company caused the rescheduling. The 2018 leg of the tour continued in Canada and the United States during April, including the presentation of the Electronica show with a reduced track list in the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, ending with a one-off concert at
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
to celebrate the 88th Saudi National Day (23 September). This concert was called "The Green Concert", and involved laser projections on the skyscrapers of the financial center of Riyadh. In September 2018, a studio compilation album entitled ''
Planet Jarre – 50 Years of Music'', consisting of forty-one songs in "four quite different styles of composition", was released.
On 26 November 2018, Jarre and Scott Kirkland of
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...
announced that they would be collaborating on a track on Jarre's next ''Electronica'' album. In January 2019,
HSBC revealed their new musical identity, composed by Jarre. On 3 October 2019, French editor
Robert Laffont
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
published Melancolique Rodeo, Jarre's autobiography. Jarre started a promotional tour for his book. On 7 November 2019, Jarre announced the release of an
application for the
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
operating system named EōN. This application contains morphing graphics created by an
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...
developed by Alexis André of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, and music generated from 7 hours of recorded material by Jarre. This music is always different on every device. The
AI algorithm which composes on the fly based on the rules set by Jarre was developed by BLEASS. A limited deluxe box set was later released with excerpts from the application.
2020–present
On 31 December 2020, Jarre held a virtual New Year's Eve concert online. He performed from a studio in Paris, but it appeared virtually from a
Notre Dame setting. The show has had over 75 million viewers as of 5 January 2021. The show was done in support of his new album "''Welcome to the other side,''" which features 12 tracks from his previously released music. The recording of the concert was released on CD, LP and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
in September 2021.
On 21 June 2021, Jarre was awarded Commander to the Legion of Honour by French president
Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée presidential palace in Paris. After the ceremony he performed at the same venue as part of the
Fête de la Musique
The Fête de la Musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day, citizens and residents are urged to play music outside in their neighborho ...
. In March 2022 Jarre presented a live project, ''Oxymore'', at
Radio France
Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
* France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety o ...
's Hyper Weekend Festival located at
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. His twenty-second studio album ''
Oxymore
''Oxymore'' is the twenty-second studio album by French musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was released on 21 October 2022 through Sony and Columbia.
Background
Originally, Jarre was planning a collaboration with the French composer ...
'' was released on 22 October, 2022 by
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
and
Menart Records as a tribute to
Pierre Henry. Some songs were accompanied by a remix created by different artists such as
Brian Eno,
Nina Kraviz,
Armin van Buuren, the first single from the album "Brutalism" was released along with a remix made by
Depeche Mode member
Martin Gore
Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist a ...
. In July 2022, his music publishing catalog was acquired by
BMG Rights Management.
Personal life
Jarre was married to Flore Guillard from 1975 until 1977. He met his second wife, actress
Charlotte Rampling, at a dinner party in
St Tropez in 1976.
The two married, and Jarre gained custody of his daughter Émilie Charlotte,
and Rampling did the same with her son Barnaby, also Jarre and Rampling had David as a son. Jarre and Rampling separated in 1996
and divorced in 2002.
He had a brief relationship with
Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmina Adjani ; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She is the only performer in history to win five César Awards for acting; she won the Best Actress award for '' Possession'' (1981), '' ...
, and married French actress
Anne Parillaud in May 2005. In November 2010 the couple announced their divorce. Jarre has a half-sister, Stéphanie Jarre, from one of
Maurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...
's other marriages.
His stepbrother,
Kevin Jarre, died in 2011. Although Maurice and Jean-Michel remained estranged, following Maurice's death in 2009, Jarre paid tribute to his legacy.
Jarre said about his father: "My father and I never really achieved a real relationship. We probably saw each other 20 or 25 times in our lifetime. When you are able, at my age, to count the times you have seen your father, it says something... I think it's better to have conflict, or, if you have a parent who dies, you grieve, but the feeling of absence is very difficult to fill, and it took me a while to absorb that.
Large concerts
Honours
* 1976 –
Grand Prix du Disque
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
by
L'Académie Charles Cros, for ''Oxygène''
* 1976 – "Personality of The Year" by ''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'' magazine (U.S.)
* 1978 –
Midem
Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...
award
* 1979 – ''
Guinness Book of Records'' entry for the biggest concert ever (La Concorde)
* 1981 – Honorary member of the
Beijing Conservatory of Music
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
.
* 1984 –
Grand Prix du Disque
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
by
L'Académie Charles Cros, for ''Zoolook''.
* 1985 – Instrumental album of the year, at the
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
in France, for ''Zoolook''
* 1986 – Instrumental album of the year, at the
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
, for ''Rendez-vous''
* 1986 – Musical spectacle of the year, at the
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
, for the Rendez-Vous Houston concert
* 1987 – New ''
Guinness Book of Records'' entry for the biggest concert ever (
Rendez-Vous Houston)
* 1987 – "European musician Person of the Year" by ''People'' magazine
* 1990 – An
asteroid,
4422 Jarre 44 may refer to:
* 44 (number)
* one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044
Military
*44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II
*44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas ta ...
, is
named in his honour.
* 1990 – New ''
Guinness Book of Records'' entry for the biggest concert ever (Paris La Défense: A City in Concert)
* 1993 –
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambas ...
* 1994 – Victoire de la Musique for Chronologie.
* 1994 – Victoire de la Musique for Europe in Concert.
* 1995 – Awarded
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
from the French Government.
* 1997 – New ''
Guinness Book of Records'' entry for the biggest concert ever with 3.5 million watching at Moscow's 850th anniversary
* 1998 –
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
's
Platinum Europe Award
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
* 2005 – HCA Ambassador for the
Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Bicentenary Festival
* 2006 – Polish Television Academy's "Super Wiktor" award for "Space of Freedom"
* 2006 –
Gdańsk's Man of the Year 2005 Award
* 2007 –
Eska Music Awards Special Award
* 2008 – Doctor
Honoris Causa by the
* 2010 –
MOJO
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* ' ...
Lifetime Achievement Award.
* 2010 – Grand Prix des Musiques Electroniques
SACEM
* 2010 –
Honorary citizen
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of Gdansk.
* 2011 – International Cavalchina Award.
* 2011 – Awarded
Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
from the French Government.
* 2012 – Awarded the "Miembro Honorífico del Claustro Universitario de las Artes" (''Honorary Fellow of the University Senate of the Arts'') by the
University of Alcalá
The University of Alcalá ( es, Universidad de Alcalá) is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ...
and the Society of Artists of Spain (AIE).
* 2013 – Awarded the
Steiger Award in Germany.
* 2013 – Elpida Award.
* 2014 –
Q Innovation of Sound award.
* 2014 –
INA Distinction Numérique Award.
* 2015 –
GQ Man of the Year.
* 2017 –
Roland Lifetime Achievement Award.
* 2017 –
SPA medal of honor.
* 2017 –
Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication
The Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication is an honor bestowed by the Starmus Festival to individuals in science and the arts to recognize the work of those helping to promote the public awareness of science.
History
The Stephen Hawki ...
by the
Starmus Festival and
Stephen Hawking.
* 2018 – Honorary president of
INA GRM.
* 2018 – Honorary member of Polish Authors Society Zaiks.
* 2019 -
Hungarian Music Award for Best Foreign Electronic Recording (''
Equinoxe Infinity
"Equinoxe Infinity" is the twentieth studio album by French musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on 16 November 2018 by Columbia Records. It is the sequel to his fourth studio release, '' Équinoxe'' (1978), released forty years pri ...
'') (nominated)
* 2021 – Commander of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
by
President Macron
Discography
* 1972 – ''Deserted Palace''
* 1973 – ''Les Granges Brûlées''
* 1976 – ''
Oxygène
''Oxygène'' (, en, Oxygen) is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976 by Disques Motors, and distributed internationally in 1977 by Polydor Records. J ...
''
* 1978 – ''
Équinoxe
''Équinoxe'' (, en, Equinox) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for its worldwide distribution. The albu ...
''
* 1981 – ''
Les Chants Magnétiques
''Les Chants Magnétiques'' (English title: ''Magnetic Fields'') is the fifth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus on 20 May 1981. The album reached number six in the United Kingd ...
''
* 1982 -
Les Concerts en Chine
''Les Concerts en Chine'' (, English title: ''The Concerts in China'') is a live album by Jean-Michel Jarre, recorded in 1981 and released in 1982 on Disques Dreyfus. It was recorded during Jarre's Concerts in China tour of Autumn 1981, which c ...
* 1983 – ''
Musique pour Supermarché
''Musique pour Supermarché'' (English title: ''Music for Supermarkets'') is the sixth studio album by electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Only a single vinyl copy was ever pressed and distributed, and its master plates were delib ...
''
* 1984 – ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded and edited ...
''
* 1986 – ''
Rendez-Vous''
* 1988 – ''
Revolutions
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
''
* 1990 – ''
En attendant Cousteau
''En attendant Cousteau'' (English title: ''Waiting for Cousteau'') is the tenth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus, licensed to Polydor. The album was dedicated to Jacques-Yve ...
''
* 1993 – ''
Chronologie''
* 1997 – ''
Oxygène 7–13''
* 2000 – ''
Métamorphoses''
* 2001 – ''Interior Music''
* 2002 – ''
Sessions 2000
''Sessions 2000'' is the fourteenth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus and distributed by Sony Music in 2002. On January 7, 2003 was released in US. ''Sessions 2000'' featured F ...
''
* 2003 – ''Geometry of Love''
* 2007 – ''
Téo & Téa''
* 2007 – ''
Oxygène: New Master Recording''
* 2015 – ''
Electronica 1: The Time Machine''
* 2016 – ''
Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise''
* 2016 – ''
Oxygène 3
''Oxygène 3'' is the nineteenth studio album by the French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Announced via a post on Jarre's Instagram account, the album was released on 2 December 2016, on the 40th anniversary of the origi ...
''
* 2017 – ''
Radiophonie Vol. 9''
* 2018 – ''
Equinoxe Infinity
"Equinoxe Infinity" is the twentieth studio album by French musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on 16 November 2018 by Columbia Records. It is the sequel to his fourth studio release, '' Équinoxe'' (1978), released forty years pri ...
''
* 2019 – ''Snapshots from EōN''
* 2020 – ''Radiophonie Vol. 10''
* 2021 – ''
Amazônia''
* 2022 – ''
Oxymore
''Oxymore'' is the twenty-second studio album by French musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was released on 21 October 2022 through Sony and Columbia.
Background
Originally, Jarre was planning a collaboration with the French composer ...
''
See also
*
List of ambient music artists
This is a list of ambient music artists. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as those who have been on a major label). This list does not include little-known ...
*
List of Jean-Michel Jarre compositions with multiple titles
This is a list of Jean-Michel Jarre compositions with multiple titles. Throughout the years, Jean-Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the elect ...
*
List of Jean-Michel Jarre concerts
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Explanatory notes
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarre, Jean-Michel
1948 births
Living people
Musicians from Lyon
French male composers
French electronic musicians
New-age synthesizer players
French keyboardists
Polydor Records artists
Epic Records artists
Rock keyboardists
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen
French experimental musicians
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
Ableton Live users
Sony Music Spain artists