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Jean-Christian
MICHEL's destiny has been quite exceptional. His original compositions,
coupled with an extraordinary clarinet sound, quickly brought him to
a unique place in the world of music, and the glory of a global career
:
The
immense success of his Jazz and Sacred music church concerts and the
sales of his new CDs of JAZZ & SACRED MUSIC CROSS-OVER attest to
it. But if music is at heart of the composer and clarinettist, the man
also amazes by virtue of his individual personality.
An
ability to self-question, sometimes painfully, has stopped him from
stagnating and brought the realisation of his dreams.
So
what is the path of Jean-Christian MICHEL ? A brief resumé of
his history
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Studious
Childhood |
A
DEEP NEED FOR MUSIC
In
his childhood Jean-Christian MICHEL already had an irresistible
need for music :
When he was seven, he went alone into the multi-coloured obscurity
of cathedrals to listen to the deep sounds of the organ.
There,
the blind organist of his church discovered his gift for music
and introduced him to musical beauty.
Later
he entered the conservatoire, to study the clarinet,
quickly gaining a passion for JS BACH's
Sacred music and american black
Jazz. But also for the sciences,
the arts and philosophy. |
At
27, MICHEL
was a surgeon
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| He
left both, high school with a diploma and the security of his
family home at sixteen, and worked to pay for his studies. Because,
in the household of Jean-Christian MICHEL, one does not joke :
"music is not a real profession!"
At
twenty seven he was a surgeon, but in moments of silence he still
heard the echo of a music trying desperately to be born : his
own. |
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SACRED
MUSIC ON THE FRONT PAGE OF CURRENT EVENTS |
| 
Jean-Christian
MICHEL's
St Roch church concert.
Packed out ! - Paris 1970. |
1970.
The black shadow of a clarinet stands out against the stained
glass windows of France's great cathedrals. A man shrouded by
mystery draws a generation of young people towards an unexpected
music, purer and more spiritual, mixing clarinet
and organ and fusing Jazz
vitality and the majesty of Sacred
music.
Kenny
CLARKE, the brilliant drummer of the MODERN JAZZ QUARTET joins
the group. Millions of albums are sold all over the world, overtaking
at that time even the sales of the Beatles.
Thousands
of concerts are given in front of immense crowds : the phenomenon
of Jean-Christian MICHEL had arrived and the "jazz-classical"
cross-over was born !
Yet
nobody knows the face of this solitary man who avoids society
and the gala evenings of the Star-System ... |
Church
"St Pierre
de Chaillot" - Paris
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THE
CALL OF THE HIMALAYA - IMAGES |
| 
Jean-Christian
MICHEL
in Himalayas on the
summit of Tawesche |
Because
Jean-Christian MICHEL himself is a very exceptional person. At
the peak of his success, he disappeared abruptly from the media
spotlight.
An
authenticity drew him towards mysterious places where he would
be able to confront his own soul. It was on the murderous slopes
of the Himalayas where, as expedition
doctor, he was to climb the "first" of Tawesche, about
7000 metres above sea level with Yannick SEIGNEUR, the famous
conquerer of Makalu !
At
Lhasa, in Tibet he joined a thousand years of tradition…
he discovered, in the shadow of forbidden monasteries, mysterious
sciences which exceeded by far all his previous researches.
Through
these experiences he gradually achieved the spirituality for which
he has been striving since the childhood. |
Climbing
in the
Himalayas Népal |
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CONCERTS
- A GLOBAL CAREER |
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Welcome
at Hambourg |
But
his return is publicly demanded, success is there. Jean-Christian
MICHEL is in demand all over the world.
The
clarinettist performs equally well in his "tour of cathedrals",
as he does under the vault of a star studded sky in the "Natural
Cathedrals concerts", or even in immense aeroplane hangars…
Europe,
America, Africa, Australia, Asia, alternately resound to his talent.
From Hamburg to Los Angeles, by way of Abidjan and Stockholm,
thousands of young people applaud Jean-Christian MICHEL. |
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At
the same time this secret man, who does not particularly seek
them, is honoured by official distinctions.
The
composer receives 3
diamond discs, 7 platinum discs and 10 golden discs...
He becomes a Full Member of the SACEM ( association of composers
and music publishers to protect copyright and royalties )...
Then
a jury consisting of six Nobel prize winners awards him, at the
Sorbonne, Paris, the prize for "Sciences and Culture"...
But is all this really important ?
In
the midst of this adulation Jean-Christian MICHEL does not forget
the humanitarian questions and very often supports and does charitable
works. Pope PAUL VI expresses his gratitude in a letter of congratulations
accompanied by his silver medal. |
| ANNAPURNAS,
KILIMANJARO |
| 
The
Pothala Temple.
Lhasa, Tibet
The Pothala Temple.
Lhasa, Tibet
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THE
COLLECTION OF THE USELESS |
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MICHEL
: Plane pilot |
| The
Himalayas, naturally, kept many secrets. Peaks and adventures
continue to call to him like unending love stories.
He
returned there five times. Mera Peak, Island Peak, Dolpo, Annapurnas,
Amadablam, Lhasa...
Then
he visited Tanzania, to contemplate the sunrise over Africa from
the mystical summit of Kilimanjaro.
At
the same time and in the same quest for freedom and discovery,
he took up aviation, and regularly escapes at the controls of
his own plane. |
JEAN-CHRISTIAN
MICHEL IN CONCERT |
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Jean-Christian
MICHEL
Concert in Los Angeles |
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Show"
Son et Lumière"
Jean-Christian MICHEL
Arrival
in Hambourg |
| In
his concerts, Jean-Christian MICHEL unites the echo of his clarinet
with a choir of instruments in a magical atmosphere.
EMOTION
AND HIGH-TECHNOLOGY IN CHURCH
The
digital liturgical church organ
that he has invented sounds like an orchestra. The synthesizers
surround him with exotic veils of rare beauty :
On
keyboard, we find his constant collaborator, Monique THUS. Unfamiliar
sounds move and penetrate the body...
The
soul and the senses wind gradually into the spiral of a cosmic
universe where one escapes gravity. Jean-Christian MICHEL,
reveals, through the heart-rendingly plaintive song of his clarinet
the enigmas of unknown worlds. |
PHILOSOPHIC
THOUGHT
| 
"Science
and Culture" Price
"Sorbonne" - Paris |
Jean-Christian
MICHEL possesses an exceptional balance between action and meditation.
He dedicates his energy to the singular constant which has endured
since the dawn of time : change.
To
be afraid of change, is obviously to be afraid of the unknown
: that's why man is afraid of being born, of living and of dying
…
But
Jean-Christian MICHEL reveres change, because it is the fundamental
element of intelligence, evolution and progress.
So,
the fear fades, the disturbing unknown becomes an opportunity
to discover and create and also a source of enjoyment : this glittering
warmth in his music is like a beautiful light which erases all
fear.
For
Jean-Christian MICHEL, Life, Love and Music, derive from the same
big principle. That is why, with Nature, Freedom and Knowledge,
they are his sacred values. The Essential in its simplicity is
his secret. |
He
has always searched for it, and now, coming close to an ultimate
understanding of the universe he wants to share his vision.
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A MYSTERIOUS MUSICAL MESSAGE |
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JEAN-CHRISTIAN
MICHEL
Contemporary
composer, impressive concert performer, Jean-Christian MICHEL
is one of the great musicians.
However,
his music escapes from the known universe : by leading us to a
recognition of ourselves, it floods us with a golden dust, made
by the fusion of our breath with that of the heavenly spheres.
It
is clear that Jean-Christian MICHEL wants to make the intimacy
of man resonate with the echo of the infinite, and to resound
in the infinity of worlds the tiny echo of the intimacy of Man. |
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