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

Early life

Jouannest was born on 2 May 1933 in

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

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

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

in 1954. During the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, he served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, although he was based in

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Career

Jouannest began his career as a pianist in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

s. He later worked as a pianist for François Rauber. In 1959, he was introduced to

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

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

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

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

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

", " Ces gens-là", "Bruxelles", " Mathilde" and " Les Vieux". He also composed songs for younger artists like

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

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

and Abd al Malik.

Personal life and death

In 1988, Jouannest married

. Jouannest supported

Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who has been the ''de facto'' leader of La France Insoumise (LFI) since it was established in 2016. He was the Deputy (France), deputy in the National Assembly ( ...

in the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. Jouannest died on 16 May 2018 in Ramatuelle, in the South of France. He was 85.

References

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