Retired since 2005, Jean-Jacques Goldman remains, for eleven years, the favorite personality of the French. On the occasion of a double anniversary – forty years of success, and 70 years of age on October 11, 2021 -, the unifying singer, figure of the Enfoirés, is interpreted again, on records and on stage by “L’Héritage Goldman”, with young voices and the competition of the gospel choir of Paris.
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Gospel is the origin of everything for Goldman. “Around 13, after hearing Aretha Franklin sing Think, he began in the Red Mountain Gospellers, the choir of the Saint-Joseph church in Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine)”, recalls Michel Boulanger, artistic director of L’Héritage Goldman. The young cub of Jewish origin, encouraged by Father Bertrand Dufourmantelle, interprets Nobody Knows and Go Down Moses, and thus financed his first models.
Fredericks, Goldman and Jones: a famous association
The idea of returning to early gospel appealed to musician Erick Benzi, director and arranger of the album. This friend of Goldman, who worked with him for more than twenty years, obtained his agreement and that of another faithful Franco-Welsh singer and guitarist Michael Jones, member of the famous Fredericks, Goldman, Jones association. “For me, the songs must live, explains Michael Jones. What we have in common with Carole (Fredericks, now deceased, editor’s note), Jean-Jacques and I, when we were young, it was gospel, it was our project. I was delighted to become a transmitter on this disc, because I am reaching the age when it is good to transmit. »
Co-writer and singer of I give you in 1985, Michael Jones took up this emblematic title in a duet with Tomislav Matosin, among the 13 tracks on the disc which will be released on January 21. “I’m very lucky to have written and recorded a song that has lived so long, it tells our story, he confides. People live it, they participate in it, there is a real joy in singing it. If I interpret it alone on stage, the public sings the part of Jean-Jacques. What is surprising is to see these young people who know the text by heart,” adds the artist.
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Marina Kaye, 24, is the figurehead of a dozen young performers, including several from “The Voice”, such as Lilian Renaud, Cyprien, Marghe or Mentissa, who grew up listening to her. Marina Kaye discovered it via the album Two that he had signed for Celine Dion. “I loved it when I was little and I identified with the songs without knowing who was behind it. Later, I developed a huge admiration for his writing talent. I also write and I consider him the best songwriter in France. »
“Goldman writes crystal clear songs”
Revealed by its tube Homeless in 2014, Marina Kaye is a voice singer. ” But the most important, she points out, is the meaning. Turning a story into a song with elegance, with the right words, the melody… is exceptional! Goldman writes clear songs, very well told and in French! »The young woman takes up with sensitivity Not you, but his favorite song remains Vole, which took on its full meaning for her during a death.
Jean-Jacques Goldman only participates in the project with a note sent to his fans. But her benevolent presence encourages the participants, as she accompanied her audience. “It was by watching him from behind the scenes that I understood what he gave to people. He had something magical says Erick Benzi. Music is shared on stage, but also in writing. Goldmanthought of those to whom he was speaking. He paid attention to the choice of subjects and texts with a maximum of humanism. »
An artist who reflects the light to others
This poetic way of addressing everyone, with a mixture of restraint, dignity and emotion, this balance that Goldman’s songs hold without calculation, the listeners feel them. “He is a mirror artist who sends the light back to others”, summarizes Erick Benzi.
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“The key word, well beyond the music, is humility, this is what strikes Goldman, and makes him different from any other artist. This is why it is the favorite of the French, that it crosses the generations “, adds Marina Kaye. “He gives a lot of love, very positive feelings”, concludes the young woman. “For me, he makes music for good reasons. »
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A tribute in three stages
The Goldman Legacy, with the gospel choir of Paris, first disc, with Camille and Julie Berthollet, Marina Kaye, Nérac, Cyprien, Marghe, Lilian Renaud, Mary Cooper, Michael Jones… will be released on January 21 (one CD, the Pias label).
The second album, with a Celtic atmosphere, with festive bagpipes and new artists, is expected in the fall of 2022.
Concerts will bring on stage the thirty revisited titles. They will debut at the Olympia in Paris on September 25 and then tour France in 2023.
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