Jean Michel Jarre

Born August 24, 1948 in France Jean Michel Andre Jarre is a music producer, composer and performer. He pioneered the New Age genre as well as the electronic and ambient sound. He uses lights, laser displays and fireworks to punctuate his music.
From an early age Jarre was introduced to a variety of art forms that included street performers, jazz musicians and artists in the genre of Pierre Soulages. He played guitar in a band, and his musical style was influenced by Pierre Schaeffer who pioneered Musique Concrete.

In 1975 Jarre found success with his album Oxygene that features synthesizer tracks and with little rhythm and a great deal of melody. He then produced Equinoxe with sequencers and a more baroque and classical style than his previous work. More than a million people attended his Equinoxe performance at the Place de la Concorde. Jarre still holds the records for the largest ever audience to attend an outdoor concert.

Jarre released Les Chants Magnetiques in May of 1981using sounds from the Fairlight CMI or an instrument Jarre pioneered. This instrument includes digital technology with sonic experimentation. Jarre was one of the first Westerners to play concerts in China, but his music was not received all that well in Beijing. Shanghai was a different story and enthusiastic crowds enthused Jarred to continue to pioneer his unique sound.

Jarred performed at a concert celebrating Texas' 150th anniversary and was contracted to perform at the 25th anniversary of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. Rendez-Vous was the result and the album features a mixture of trombones, French horns, and violins plus an Elka Synthex. 2,000 projectors lit up downtown Houston with an elaborate display of laser technology and fireworks.

In 2010 Jarre was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Mojo Magazine and on May 30, 2011 he released his CD set Essentials & Rarities. This album is a compilation of his famous works. June 2013 Jarre was elected as the president of the Confederation Internationale des societies d'auteurs et compositeurs.

Jarre is currently single after three discontent marriages. He has one daughter and one son.