BIOGRAPHY:

M.A. in French litterature (Grenoble University, France) and Graduate from Berklee College of music (Boston USA).

Languages
French, English, Russian, Spanish

Studio musician, (guitars of the world specialist), composer and producer with several gold and platinum credits to his name, including Midnight Oil (with Gaia), Patricia Kaas, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Supertramp Roger Hodgson, Rita Marley to name just a few.
Now he shares his time between composing and producing. He also leaves some room to work as a musical director for major “live”projects (Gaia, Jean Michel Jarre)

He released a solo album «Unplugged journey» (Koka) that features a lot of his acoustic world guitars. This Cd has been used extensively all around the world by musical illustrators (commercials, movies etc…)
He has his own show (based on what he did on stage with Rogers for the opening of
Jean Jacques Goldman 94/95 concerts) where he plays and demonstrates more than twelve «guitars of the world», including pedal steel, oud, banjo, dobro, guitars, bozuki… He still participates to guitar concerts ( sharing the bill with John Mc Laughlin,
Jean Felix Lalanne, Birelli lagrene etc…)

He enjoys mixing lo-tech and hi-tech recording approaches in his own Paris
based studio : Studio 124, by the name of his own publishing/production company.
He has composed and arranged several award-winning projects, including movies
(« Bo Ba Bu », voted best music at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2001), video games (« Rayman », the famous worldwide hit by UbiSoft, Jim Henson’s
“Bear in the big blue house” CDRom) and many others.

He has also written a “digest” history of the guitar and a lot of articles devoted to world guitars for Guitarist magazine, that are heavily consulted on his internet pages by
“world guitars” afficionados from all around the world.

INTERVIEW WITH CLAUDE SAMARD:

What did you want to do when you were growing up as a child?

Automobiles designer then musician

What would you do if you were not a musician?

Luthier or writer

What are you doing in your spare time?

Learning new musical techniques

Which musicians do you admire?

Musicians with soul

Earlier you have made an album called “Unplugged Journey”, where is it possible to buy?

Koka Media site

Will you release other CD’s in the future as a solo artist?

Yes I’m working on it now, putting together some music that I recorded that was never published on cd’s (like the Bo Ba Bu music soundtrack that won the Best Music Award in Shanghai 2001 Film Festival)

What did you work with before you started working with Jarre?

Most of the Top French pop stars (Patricia Kaas, J.J. Goldman, Johnny Halliday…) and I collaborated with international stars too (Roger Hodgson –Supertramp, Anggun, Midnite Oil, Zucchero, Manu Dibango, Rita Marley –Bob’s wife)

Tell about your work with JMJ and how you did get involved:

I was called to organize all the musical aspect of the Beijing concert in 2004, after JMJ wishes (arrange some songs, create new Orchestral arrangements on old songs that didn t feature orchestras, work with JMJ on new songs, take care of the recordings in Beijing, contacting and working with local Chinese musicians).

What is your best achievement with JMJ?

Doing my job so that he s happy with it, on time, in a good friendly and efficient relationship between all the participants.

Which one of the concerts that you have been working with JMJ have been the best memories so far?

Beijing and Gdansk. Beijing was the first concert with JMJ, a real challenge plus the discovery of China. Gdansk was very emotional

Most funny moment with JMJ?

Gdansk aftershow when we re happy to celabrate with JMJ, the crew and local people

Do you have any specific favorite Jarre album or track?

Souvenir de Pekin

What track makes you smile when on stage?

When I play the organ grinder

How is it to work with JMJ compared with other artist?

It s world class. Period.

It seems you work a lot for JMJ behind the scenes for a concert, and JMJ is referring to you when he is on stage, explaining you are the “musical coordinator for this concert” (like in Beijing, Gdansk, or LinX concert). But what is your task as Musical coordinator?

It covers a vast area, from the first meeting when JMJ tells his musical requirements for new arrangements, track list, new stuff to help create for the concert, until the final day of the concert. JMJ is very busy, a JMJ concert is a huge event, that involves diplomatic, artistic, financial and logistic problems so he can ‘t take care of everything. He needs somebody to help make his musical ideas become reality. So we work together on those projects, we have frequent meetings , each step has to be approved by him to make sure I m on the right way. For exemple I always have to go in the country to meet the local orchestras and musicians two months before so that I show them what they have to play, I answer their questions so that the technical side of the concert is not a source of preoccupations for JMJ. That way he can concentrate on the global artistic project.

How does it feel to play a street organ in a “high tech” JMJ concert? It’s like playing this very French mechanic instrument in such a big concert; don’t you think it’s a big contrast?

It s a good idea

Will you also work with JMJ in future?

I hope so, it s a real accomplishment both from a human and artistic point of view

More information about Claude Samard, go to his official website: www.claudesamard.com