Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of
Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a
session musician
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
, notably with
Sting and
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
style.
Career
Session musician
Katché was born on 27 October 1958 in
Saint-Maur-des-Fossés
Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a Communes of France, commune in Val-de-Marne, the southeastern suburbs of Paris, suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris.
History Abbey
Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to Saint-Maur A ...
in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. He performed on several successful albums in the mid-1980s such as
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
's 1986 album ''
So'' and
Sting's ''
…Nothing Like the Sun'' (1987) and ''
The Soul Cages'' (1991). Since then, he has been featured in the pop, rock and world music scenes, playing with numerous artists and bands, including:
Afro Celt Sound System,
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
,
Al Di Meola
Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...
,
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
,
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...
,
Simple Minds,
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
,
Laurent Voulzy,
Jeanne Mas,
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
,
Mike Lindup,
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music.
Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Gar ...
,
Claudio Baglioni,
Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
,
Manu Chao
Manu Chao (; born José Manuel Tomás Arturo Chao Ortega on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish musician. He sings in French language, French, Spanish language, Spanish, English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Arabic, Catalan language ...
,
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic music, Celtic and Middle Eastern music, Middle Eastern influences. McKenni ...
,
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...
,
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...
,
Joan Armatrading,
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...
,
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
,
Richard Wright,
Kyle Eastwood,
the Christians,
Ryuichi Sakamoto
was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...
,
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...
,
Dominic Miller and the aforementioned Peter Gabriel and Sting, with whom he has also toured extensively. Manu has also worked with
Zlatan Stipišić Gibonni, a Croatian singer and songwriter, on his albums ''Mirakul'' (2001) and ''Unca Fibre'' (2006), and has toured with Gibonni supporting the two albums.
With Preface
From 1985 to 1988 he was in the band
Preface
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...
, with guitar player
Kamil Rustam and keyboardist Jean-Yves D'Angelo.
Solo
In 1991, Katché released his first solo album, ''
It's About Time'', largely in the pop genre, with guest musicians like
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician.
He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...
,
David Rhodes,
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
,
David Sancious
David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on '' Human Touch'' (1992), '' Tr ...
,
Branford Marsalis and
Sting. His subsequent solo releases have all been jazz. He released his second solo album on 12 September 2005 entitled ''
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
'', which features
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music.
Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Gar ...
on saxophone,
Tomasz Stańko
Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (; 11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer associated with free jazz and the avant-garde.
In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Muniak, pianist ...
on trumpet,
Marcin Wasilewski on piano and
Slawomir Kurkiewicz on double bass. His second ECM album, ''Playground'' was released in September 2007. In March 2010, Katché released ''Third Round'', again on ECM.
From 2003 to 2007, along with producer
Dove Attia
Jules Dove Attia (Arabic-language, Arabic: جول دوف عطية) better known as Dove Attia (born in Kingdom of Tunisia, Tunisia on 8 June 1957), is a musical producer and television personality.
Beginnings
Dove Attia is a French citizen bor ...
, composer
André Manoukian and singer
Marianne James, he was one of the four judges in the TV-show ''
Nouvelle Star
''Nouvelle Star'' (; also known as '' À la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star'' for the first season) is a French television series based on the popular Pop Idol programme produced by FremantleMedia. It was broadcast by M6 in seasons 1–8 befor ...
'', the French version of the ''
Idol'' series. He was the most feared judge for his wit and his severe judgment about the groove, rhythm and tempo of the singing contestants.
Since January 2008, Katché has hosted the monthly program ''One Shot Not'' on
Arte
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
.
In 2010 Katché composed the instrumental music for the six themed lands of the Belgian theme park
Bellewaerde. An album, with the twelve compositions for the park, including music for the Mexican, western, Indian and Canadian areas, was sold in souvenir shops at the park.
In August 2011 the album ''Rock the Tabla'' was released, featuring Manu Katché,
Billy Cobham
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
He was inducted into the '' Mode ...
, A.R. Rahman,
Hossam Ramzy and Omar Faruk Tekbilek.
Discography
Solo albums
* ''
It's About Time'' (BMG, 1992)
* ''
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
'' (
ECM, 2005)
* ''
Playground
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...
'' (ECM, 2007)
* ''Third Round'' (ECM, 2010)
* ''Manu Katché'' (ECM, 2012)
* ''Live in Concert'' (
ACT, 2014)
* ''
Touchstone for Manu'' (ECM, 2014)
* ''Unstatic'' (Anteprima, 2016)
* ''The Scope'' (Anteprima, 2019)
Participations
With
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
* ''
Boys for Pele'' (1996)
With
Claudio Baglioni
* ''
Oltre'' (1990)
With
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
* ''
Who Else!'' (1999)
With
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
* ''
Still Waters'' (1997)
With
Louis Bertignac
Louis Laurent Bertignac (; born 23 February 1954) is a French guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. An ex Shakin' Street member and a founding member in 1976 of the rock band Téléphone, he formed Bertignac et les Visiteurs after Téléphone sp ...
* ''
Elle et Louis'' (1993)
With
Francis Cabrel
* ''
Sarbacane'' (1989)
* ''
Samedi Soir Sur La Terre'' (1994)
With
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...
*''
Matters of the Heart'' (1992)
With
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
* ''
On Every Street'' (1991)
With
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
* ''
So'' (1986)
* ''
Passion'' (1989), Soundtrack
* ''
Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats'' (1990), Compilation
* ''PoV'' (1990), Concert Video Album
* ''
Us'' (1992)
* ''
Secret World Live'' (1994)
* ''
OVO'' (2000), Soundtrack
* ''
Up'' (2002)
* ''
Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002)
* ''
Hit'' (2003), Compilation
* ''
Play: The Videos'' (2004)
* ''
Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped'' (2005)
* ''
Back to Front: Live in London'' (2014)
* ''
i/o'' (2023)
With
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music.
Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Gar ...
* ''
Ragas and Sagas'' (ECM, 1990)
* ''
I Took Up the Runes'' (ECM, 1990)
* ''
Twelve Moons'' (ECM, 1992)
* ''
Visible World'' (ECM, 1995)
* ''
In Praise of Dreams'' (ECM, 2003)
* ''
Dresden: In Concert'' (ECM, 2009)
With
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
* ''
The Imagine Project''
With
Nigel Kennedy
* ''Kafka'' (1996)
With
Tony Levin
* ''
World Diary'' (1996)
With
Michael McDonald
* ''
Blink of an Eye'' (1993)
With
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic music, Celtic and Middle Eastern music, Middle Eastern influences. McKenni ...
* ''
The Book of Secrets'' (1997)
*''
An Ancient Muse'' (2006)
With
Dominic Miller
*''Absinthe'' (ECM, 2019)
With
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
* ''
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm'' (1988)
*compiled in:
**''
Misses'' (1996)
**''
The Beginning of Survival'' (2004)
**''
Dreamland'' (2004)
**''
Songs of a Prairie Girl'' (2005)
With
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...
* ''
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...
'' (1987)
With
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...
* ''
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...
'' (1995)
* ''The Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology'' (2003)
With
Simple Minds
* ''
Street Fighting Years'' (1989)
With
Sting
* ''
...Nothing Like the Sun'' (1987)
* ''
The Soul Cages'' (1991)
* ''
Brand New Day'' (1999)
* ''
All This Time'' (2001)
* ''
At the Movies'' (2002)
* ''
Sacred Love'' (2003)
* ''
The Bridge'' (2021)
With
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
* ''
The Seeds of Love'' (1989)
With
Richard Wright
* ''
Broken China'' (1996)
With
Paul Young
* ''
Other Voices'' (1990)
References
External links
Official websiteManu Katché on ECM RecordsAlbum credits at allmusic.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katche, Manu
1958 births
Living people
Black French musicians
People from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés
French jazz drummers
French male drummers
French session musicians
French male songwriters
French songwriters
French musicians
French people of Ivorian descent
French male jazz musicians