Jean-Pierre Sabar

Pianist, arranger and composer Jean-Pierre Sabar (or Jean-Pierre Sabard) is best known for his work with Serge Gainsbourg. Born Jean-Pierre Guigon in Constantine, French Algeria, on September 14, 1933, he made his debut in 1961 alongside Hugues Aufray, before playing with the yé-yé group Les Gamblers (1963), then collaborating with artists such as Zouzou, Dani, Françoise Hardy, Guy Béart and Claude François. In 1969, he produced Jean-Pierre Sabar's album Super-Danse - Les Orgues Electroniques, featuring soul, jazz and easy-listening covers of songs by The Beatles and Serge Gainsbourg. The same year, he joined the short-lived free jazz group Acting Trio, after having taken part in the Balthazar group, like himself made up of studio musicians. Among other contributions for Michel Jonasz, Jean Gabin and Jacques Dutronc, he wrote the theme for the film Le Pélican (1974) and began a close collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg with "L'Ami Caouette", followed by arrangements and even the composition of several songs and pieces, including the soundtracks to the films Je T'aime Moi Non Plus (1976), Madame Claude (1977) and Goodbye Emmanuelle (1977), and also worked with Jane Birkin, whom he accompanied until after her falling out with her mentor. After the exotic Folk Celebrations (1974), he took a disco turn with Keyboard Festival (1978) and the Novelty Disco Band. He continued his work in French chanson alongside Michel Sardou, Linda de Souza, Marie-Paule Belle, Yves Simon, Catherine Lara, Michel Fugain, Chagrin d'Amour, Rose Laurens, Nana Mouskouri, Maxime Le Forestier, for whom he composed the hit "Né quelque part" (1988), Julien Clerc, Patricia Kaas and Johnny Hallyday. After retiring from the studio in the early 2000s, Jean-Pierre Sabar died in Issy-les-Moulineaux on December 16, 2024, at the age of 91.

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