JEANNE CHERHAL
Jeanne Cherhal was born on February 28, 1978 in Erbray, Normandy. Her schooling was oriented towards literary studies and the young woman, influenced by classical French song, from Georges Moustaki to Georges Brassens, ended up failing in philosophy school where, between two lectures in the lecture hall at the University of Nantes, she composed, rehearsed, created and refined a repertoire very oriented towards "realistic French song". She also tastes university and community theatre. This double experience of the stage led her to Paris, where she began, once her diplomas were in her pocket, to explore clubs, cabarets, artists' studios and other bohemian places on both sides of the river.
Popularized by the release of her first album, Jeanne Cherhal was contacted by several singers working in the field of text composition to open for their concerts: Thomas Fersen, Georges Moustaki and Jacques Higelin entrusted Jeanne with the task of warming up their audience before they entered the stage. All these experiences contribute to broadening the audience of the singer and composer who now performs in duo with Vincent Delerm, sings with Aldebert or performs with Mathieu Bouchet. Giving a humorous touch to the stage performance of her fellow singers, Jeanne Cherhal (whose performances remind us a little of the fantasy of actress Sophie Forte) participates in the children's album Le Chat Musicien and signs in 2004 her second album, Douze Fois Par An which receives the Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie Charles-Cros for the quality of her texts. Now settled in, the little redhead is singing a song with Jacques Higelin, Jean-Philippe "Jipé" Nataf, Les Têtes Raides or Franck Monnet. A figure of the new Parisian culture, she returned to acting for a while in 2005 for the play Les Monologues du vagin by Eve Ensler, where she succeeded actresses such as Firmine Richard, Marie-France Barrault, Fanny Cottençon and Micheline Dax in the interpretation of one of these freed women speaking without taboos about their sexuality. That same year, she was consecrated "Revelation of the Year" at the Victoires de la musique and composed, alongside Sinclair, the soundtrack to the film Ma Vie est en l'air, by Rémy Bezançon. Jeanne Cherhal, now a major figure on the new French music scene, is one of all the initiatives of the genre: present on charity albums (20 years old Chernobyl; solicited by Louis Chédid for the musical Le Soldat rose), active on retrospective compilations such as Claude François, Autrement Dit where she plays "Une petite larme m a trahie", the little Nantaise has made her way since her debut in Parisian cabarets outside rooms with three quarters empty. L'Eau, her fourth album, produced by Albin de la Simone, was released in 2006 in perfect harmony with the sweet and gentle musical universe of this singer and composer, a leading figure on the French pop scene. After author collaborations on Emily Loizeau and Amandine Bourgeois' albums, then an appearance on the "Brandt rhapsody" by Benjamin Biolay, Jeanne Cherhal returns in March 2010 with the album Charade. Composed of eleven songs linked by a common thread in the form of four enigmas, this playful disc reveals new facets of the singer, now alone at work on all instruments. She then brings these songs to life on stage with La Secte Humaine (ex-Little Rabbits). After a few performances with the Françoises devoted to Véronique Sanson's album Amoureuse, the singer became addicted to this repertoire to feed her fifth album Histoire de J with sentimental variations played on the piano and with her rock band. The first single, "L'Echappé", precedes its publication in March 2014. |