I have a severe fixation on Michel Legrand and his music. Certain artists have a sound, and that music ties to their DNA. I think of Moondog, Philip Glass, Scott Walker, and others with a sound that is their aural presence. One can imitate them, but there is no way once you hear their music; you can mistake it for another artist. The same goes for Michel Legrand. There is something unique that gives the Legrand signage that can’t be duplicated. Legrand doesn’t rock, but he swings, and it is a swing that is Legrand’s specialty.
My first presence of Legrand was a visual one, when he appeared in Cléo from 5 to 7, a film by Agnés Varda, the ultimate French New Wave movie. Legrand has a sizable role in the film, playing himself and writing songs for Cléo, and there is nothing more charming than seeing Legrand entertaining a doom-related Cléo to lead her away from her worries. His dark-rimmed glasses and proto-type hipness are a good role model for me, which I noted in my journal then. The world sucks, but if you have that Legrand approach to life, you will go down in style. So, his dark-rimmed glasses and music are enjoyable, with equal lightness and darkness. He conveys that fittingly in all his composed soundtracks with the filmmaker Jacques Demy.
Looking at his discography, one can think of Legrand all over the map. His soundtracks, jazz recordings (as a pianist and in orchestra), or a hybrid of pop and jazz, but he manages to make it his music, which doesn’t sound like anyone else. He knows how to take a sad song and make it lively Or turn that tune lively into sadness. I don’t think there is another artist that sounds or has that quality that Legrand had. Sérénades Du XXe Siècle (20th Century Serenades) came out in 1964, and it is a collection of songs by and performed by Legrand. He sings romantically and even vocalese (scat singing). Jazz is his foundation, but he mixes in French pop with classical touches, but it is with a jazz-minded musician/arranger head.
Lyricist Eddy Marnay co-wrote the songs on Sérénades Du XXe Siècle. I suspect he’s playing the role of an older observer of a younger generation by working with a younger songwriter, Legrand. I have noticed that with some French music artists, there is an appreciation of the past and how they can fit into that framework of being both in the past and present. One doesn’t see or hear that much in America, but I suspect the aging issue is much more relaxed in France than in the States. Or, perhaps, it is an appreciation of decay which has been on my mind lately.
Avant le jazz, the last song on the album, is the same African beat that fascinated Serge Gainsbourg for his Percussions album around the same time. It is debatable whether it’s a colonization of a foreign sound or a unique approach to adding other elements to the French pop music concept. Still, for me, it works on many levels. Legrand reminds me a bit of the British film composer John Barry in that they both came from jazz and have a distinctive sound, and they are around the same age, so there is a groove aspect to both similar artists. Besides Sérénades Du XXe Siècle, I would also recommend these Legrand albums as well:
Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz
Michel Legrand - Legrand Piano
Michel Legrand / Jacques Demy – Le Cinéma En Chanté
Michel Legrand does Satie - Piano Works
Jack Jones - Sings Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand - Qui Êtes-vous Polly Maggoo ?
Michel Legrand - Plays for Dancers / Archi-Cordes
Michel Legrand - OST Eva (Great Joseph Losey film)
Claude Nougaro – Le Cinéma
Michel Legrand - Peau D'Ane (Jacques Demy)
Very cool. I'll ck it! Like many people, I first experienced Legrand's bitter harmonies in "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "The Wildmills of Your Mind." And -- just as you say -- it is a signature sound. and feeling.
Yes Tosh, you’re right,one can always recognize the music of Michel Legrand. Thanks for the reminder.