Biography
Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer renowned for his jazz adaptations of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, including the Goldberg Variations. Founded in 1959, the Jacques Loussier Trio performed over 3,000 concerts and sold more than 7 million records, primarily featuring Bach's music. Loussier also composed film scores and various classical works such as a Mass, a ballet, and violin concertos. His musical style is classified as third stream, blending jazz and classical elements with a focus on improvisation.
Born in Angers, France, on 26 October 1934, Loussier began piano lessons at age ten. At eleven, he encountered a piece from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach and developed a passion for it. In a 2003 interview, he recalled, "I was studying this piece and I just fell in love with it. Then I found I loved to play the music, but add my own notes, expanding the harmonies and playing around with that music." At thirteen, he met pianist Yves Nat in Paris, who assigned him projects every three months, followed by lessons.
While studying at the Conservatoire National Musique in Paris from age sixteen, Loussier began composing. During a conservatory competition, he improvised when he forgot a Bach prelude, reflecting the 18th-century tradition of improvisation embraced by musicians like Bach. To fund his education, he played jazz in Parisian bars. His fusion of Bach and jazz was pioneering at the time. After six years of study, he traveled through the Middle East and Latin America, absorbing diverse musical influences and spending a year in Cuba.
Early in his career, Loussier accompanied singers such as Frank Alamo, Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré, and Catherine Sauvage. In 1959, he formed the Jacques Loussier Trio with bassist Pierre Michelot—who had collaborated with Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France—and percussionist Christian Garros. The trio used Bach's compositions as a foundation for jazz improvisation, performing extensively and producing numerous recordings. Initially signed with Decca Records, they switched to Philips/Phonogram in 1973, selling over six million albums within 15 years. Their most famous track, "Air on the G String," was featured in UK Hamlet cigar advertisements for more than three decades.
The trio disbanded in the mid-1970s, after which Loussier established Studio Miraval in 1977, a recording studio where he worked on compositions for both acoustic and electric instruments. He collaborated with artists like Pink Floyd, Elton John, Sting, Chris Rea, and Sade. Notably, parts of Pink Floyd's album The Wall were recorded at Studio Miraval.
