French Chanson linkfest

There's the old guard: Charles Aznavour, Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Serges Gainsbourg, Juliette Greco, Henri Salvador, Yves Montand, etc.). Jacques Brel has been part of my aural landscape since I was 16 and I visited the Fondation Jacques Brel in Brussels last year.

And there's a new generation of French singer/songwriters including Keren Ann, Benjamin Biolay, Bénabar, Coralie Clement, Carla Bruni, Vincent Delerm, etc. I finally got around to reading the New York Times Magazine article about Benjamin Biolay ('Le Pop Star', 3/27/05), which Isabelle ( a fellow Brel fan and the chorus French coach) said I should read .

Micheline van Hautem is Belgian performer who travels between New York and the Netherlands. She performs stripped down arrangements of Brel songs in a clear, gutsy soprano and did a spectacular concert last Fall at Florence Gould Hall. She's performing 'Songs of Jacques Brel' this month Cutting Room (in Manhattan), The Red Hat (Irvington) and in May at Danny's Skylight Room.

* 4 French musicians rack up gains in U.S.(Los Angeles Times)
* 20 Ans de Chanson Actuelles (20 Years of Modern French Music)
* A French buffet of streaming downloads (Village Voice)
* Listen to samples of Keren Ann's Nolita
* Listen to Carla Bruni's Quelqu'un M'a Dit (entire album)
* Music of France (Wikipedia)
* The French are Coming (Village Voice)
* Traditional French Songs Enjoy Revival (National Public Radio)

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Listening to: Leonard Lopate, WNYC

tags: Benjaimn Biolay, Jacques Brel, chanson, French, music