Biography
Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. He arranged jazz interpretations of many of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the Goldberg Variations. The Jacques Loussier Trio, founded in 1959, played more than 3,000 concerts and sold more than 7 million recordings—mostly in the Bach series. Loussier composed film scores and a number of classical pieces, including a Mass, a ballet, and violin concertos. His style is described as third stream, a synthesis of jazz and classical music, with an emphasis on improvisation.
Loussier was born on 26 October 1934 in Angers, France. He started piano lessons there at age ten. When he was eleven, he heard a piece from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. In a 2003 interview, he said, "I was studying this piece and I just fell in love with it. Then I found I loved to play the music, but add my own notes, expanding the harmonies and playing around with that music." At 13, he met pianist Yves Nat in Paris, who regularly gave him projects for three months, after which he returned for another lesson.
Loussier began composing music while studying at the Conservatoire National Musique, having moved by then to Paris, with Nat, from the age of 16. At a competition at the conservatory, he played a prelude by Bach, and when his memory failed, he improvised. He later said that he only followed a tradition, because musicians of the 18th century—including Bach—were great improvisers. Loussier played jazz in Paris bars to finance his studies. Fusing Bach and jazz was unique at the time. After six years of study, he travelled to the Middle East and Latin America, where he was inspired by different sounds. He stayed in Cuba for a year.
Early in his career, Loussier was an accompanist for singers Frank Alamo, Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré and Catherine Sauvage. In 1959, he formed the Jacques Loussier Trio with string bass player Pierre Michelot—who had played with Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France—and percussionist Christian Garros. They used Bach's compositions as a base for jazz improvisation and made many live appearances, tours, and concerts, as well as a number of recordings. They began with Decca Records but changed to Philips/Phonogram in 1973. They sold over six million albums in 15 years. Their best-known recording is "Air on the G String", which was used to advertise Hamlet cigars in the UK for over 30 years.
In the mid-1970s, the trio was dissolved. Loussier set up his own recording studio, Studio Miraval, which opened in 1977, where he worked on compositions for acoustic and electric instruments. He recorded with musicians such as Pink Floyd, Elton John, Sting, Chris Rea, and Sade. Parts of Pink Floyd's album The Wall were recorded there. ...
Source: Article "Jacques Loussier" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Filmography
all 49
Movies 34
TV Shows 15
self 7
Director 1
Jacques Loussier Trio - Play Bach - The 1989 Munich Concert (2006)
Jacques Loussier Trio - Play Bach and More (2005)
Jeanne (1994)
The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993)
The Monkey Folk (1989)
L'Or du diable (1989)
Un château au soleil (1988)
The Enigmatic Mister S. (1987)
Le croc-note show (1986)
Boulevard des assassins (1982)
Life After Death (1982)
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (1980)
Ce diable d'homme (1978)
Le Cœur au ventre (1976)
Questionnaire - Simone de Beauvoir: pourquoi je suis féministe (1975)
Numéro un (1975)
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975)
Midi Première (1975)
Le Secret des Flamands (1974)
Snow Job (1972)
Le Grand Échiquier (1972)
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Vidocq (1971)
The Diamond (1970)
Girls for Pleasure (1970)
A Golden Widow (1969)
The Happy Sixties (1969)
Tische (1969)
A Woman Needs Loving (1969)
You Only Love Once (1968)
Engelchen oder die Jungfrau von Bamberg (1968)
Dark of the Sun (1968)
The Killing Game (1967)
À belles dents (1966)
Geronimo und die Räuber (1966)
The Other Truth (1966)
Les jeunes années (1965)
Food (1965)
Foncouverte (1965)
The Botanical Avatar of Mademoiselle Flora (1965)
Skies Above (1965)
Life Upside Down (1964)
The Last Steps (1964)
Diary of a Fight (1964)
Thierry la Fronde (1963)
Cadavres en vacances (1963)
Refuges (1963)
Le Paris des mannequins (1962)
Discorama (1959)
Le dernier jour
Ratings
Information
Known ForSound
GenderMale
Birthday1934-10-26
Deathday2019-03-05 (84 years old)
Birth PlaceAngers, France
ChildrenJean-Baptiste Loussier
CitizenshipsFrance
AwardsCommandeur des Arts et des Lettres
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