Michel Santangeli

A session and concert drummer, Michel Santangeli accompanied Alan Stivell and worked extensively with Jacques Higelin, before producing a single album under his own name. Born in Paris on August 29, 1945, he learned to play several instruments and accompanied the singer Frankie Jordan, before going on to accompany several rock groups such as Les Pingouins, Les Chaussettes Noires and Les Chats Sauvages. A ballroom musician, he moved to Brittany and discovered the local folk scene. In the group Les Jerrys, he met guitarist Dan Ar Braz, who introduced him to harpist Alan Stivell, whom Michel Santangeli accompanied on tour and on the albums A l'Olympia (1972) and Chemins de Terre (1973). At the same time, the drummer collaborated with Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes, the Breton group Sonerien Du and Malicorne. In 1975, he formed the group Ys with Pierre Chérèze, then Keris. A regular contributor to Dan Ar Braz albums at the time, he also took part in the sessions for Iggy Pop's album The Idiot at the Château d'Hérouville in 1976, and played with the group Ripaille. That same year, he met Jacques Higelin, whom he followed in the studio and in concert until 1988. In 1983, Michel Santangeli recorded his only album, Santangeli, with a cover designed by Jean Solé, this time featuring Higelin on accordion, Eric Serra, Pierre Vassiliu and Pierre Chérèze. He also takes part in Jérôme Savary's musical Superdupont and his Grand Magic Circus. After further activities in his home studio in Finistère, Michel Santangeli died of lung cancer in Brest on September 30, 2014, at the age of 69.

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